Slade: Last of the Masked
by Red Eyes Black Dragon Master
Summary: You know my name but you know nothing about me. This is my complete story, starting from my first incounter with the Masked until the battle against Trigon, and I will tell it to you. My name is Slade. SladeXArella from chapter 20 down. Complete!
1. Introduction

Slade: Last of the Masked

**Introduction**

I realize many of you know my name. But you know nothing of me, yet you hate me nonetheless. Before you judge me, listen to what I have to say. This is my story. After I'm finished, think of me what you will. My name is Slade.

Before I begin my story, I should tell you a little about the world I come from. The ancient order known as the Scath, you might know of them, they are worshipers of Trigon the terrible. They fallow the prophecy:

**_The Gem was born of evils fire._**

_**The Gem shall be His portal.**_

_**He comes to claim, He comes to sire,**_

_**The end of all things mortal.**_

The Scath hope to make this prophecy a reality and bring Trigon into this world. But there is another ancient order, the Masked. The Masked are warriors of the world and fight to protect it. A master must be an expert in martial arts, a master of disguise and deception, extremely skilled in engineering and explosives, plus an expert strategist. I am the last of the Masked. I hoped to restore the order, but all efforts to acquire an apprentice have failed.

Now I will tell my story.

I'll begin with the order known as the Masked.


	2. Chosen

**Chosen**

I must start at my childhood. I came from a rich family and my parents didn't have a ton of time to spend with me so they set me up with several day plans. When I was 10, my father had signed me up for karate. In the class, I would put all my frustration and loneliness into my fighting, making me a force to be reckoned with.

When our class spared off, no one wanted to fight me. They knew I would show no mercy. Most of the class was at the level of blue belt while I held the level of third degree black belt. The only person in the class willing to fight me was my best friend, Marth. At the level of brown belt (which is one level below black) he was the only one who stood a chance. My teachers, or sensei, considered me to be the best young student they ever taught.

Being the best I became quite ignorant and cocky, considering everyone else as less than myself. We also had our tournaments; held in a room with white painted walls, posters of kids in certain stances, a large tan colored mat in the middle, and rows of metal chairs along the walls. In whatever tournament I entered I would take down my opponent easily and effortlessly. Until the one time everything changed.

The time for the finals had come and I was on a roll, a kid from an unknown class stepped forward. When I saw he's younger than myself so I was positive of win. "Watch yourself out there, Slade." Marth said. "This kid is very tough."

I chuckled at that. "You only say so because he beat you, don't worry I'm the best remember. This kid doesn't stand a chance."

I got up off the chair and walked into the ring. My opponent did the same. "Shake hands." The adviser said. The other kid reach out his hand and I, reluctantly, did the same.

"May the best kid win." He said.

I smiled. "I plan to."

We both then backed up and bowed to the other. When the adviser said 'fight' I tense up and aimed a powerful kick at the kids chest. Swift as lightning, he grabbed my foot and stopped it. Then he twisted it and down I went. He did a first move win.

As I got to my feet for the next round, I could hear Marth laughing behind me. "Told ya."

"A fluke." I said. "It won't happen again." In the second round, I did the same move. But when he grabbed my ankle and threw me to the ground, I braced against the mat with my hands and managed a direct hit to his chest. He staggered back and I jumped back on my feet.

"So that's the way it's going to be." He said. "Fine." He raced for me and swung a fist and my chest, I caught his wrist. He swung his other fist and I caught that one too. He lifted one leg and placed the soul of his foot against my chest and shoved with great force. I staggered back; barely able to keep my balance, but he managed a full back flip and landed squarely on his feet. Too tired to continue, I went down from his next move.

As I left the kid came up to me with an envelope and said. "Read this tonight." He then turned around and walked away.

I came home later that day with a second place trophy. My mom came out of the kitchen to greet me. "Welcome home, Slade. How did you do?"

"Horrible." I said and went into my room. I shut the door and then looked down at the envelope I had been given. I didn't know if I should trust this kid, but I did want to know how he got so good. I ripped open the envelope pulled out the paper and read.

_If you are reading this you must be good,_

_We need your help; something terrible will happen _

_And we are all that stands in its way._

_If you wish to know what we are speaking of_

_Come to the corner of Central and Main St. tonight at midnight._

_Be there._

_P.S. destroy this message after reading it so no one will find it._

I stared at the letter for a second before folding it back up. I wanted to know. After dinner, while we sat around the fireplace, I threw the letter into the flames and watched it blacken, crinkle, and turn to ash.

Late that night, while both my mother and father slept, I got up out of bed and climbed through the window.

I waited at the corner of Central and Main for at least half an hour. While waiting I began to think I'd been had. Until I saw two figures come toward me. One was a tall man in an over coat and shady hat, the image commonly depicted on the neighborhood watch signs. His face, although hidden, seemed to shine like metal. The second was much shorter; the kid I fought at the tournament.

"Is this the one you spoke of?" The tall man asked. His mysterious voice echoed.

"This is the one." The kid said. "Glad you could make it." He said to me.

"But we can't stay here, it's too dangerous. We must find a safer place follow me." The man said. He turned around and began to walk away, the kid follow close by. I stood confused by the street sign for a moment, and then followed myself.

I didn't yet know this simple decision would shape the rest of my life.


	3. Masked History

**Masked History**

The two people led the way, where to I didn't know. When we came to a dark alley they stopped. The alley was the usual type of alley; a big green dumpster at the corner, piles of reeking black garbage bags along the red brick walls and old newspapers blowing in the wind. The man in the overcoat looked down the sidewalk in both directions, and then went down the alley. The kid followed.

They stopped outside a large steel door. The kid turned around and saw that I was still standing on the sidewalk. "Come on." He said. Slowly, cautiously, afraid of what would happen next, I walked into the alley and stood beside him.

The man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small round object. He placed this item into the place where the doorknob should be. He pulled his hand away and I saw the item was half black and half orange. The small red lights around the edge of it blinked for a few seconds and then the door opened.

We stepped inside, I more cautious than ever. Once inside, the man turned on a light and removed his coat and hat. He was wearing a black jumpsuit with metal plates on his arms legs and shoulders, a utility belt around his waist, and a strap across his chest. He also had on a helmet-like mask with two eyeholes that was also half black on the right, half orange on the left.

The kid wore almost the exact same outfit except no mask and the top of his jumpsuit was half orange on the left half black on the right. "What are you people in some kind of cult?" I said.

The man in the mask turned around to look at me, his cold eyes starring through the mask. "My apprentice will explain. Shaun." The kid stepped forward.

"Come with me." He said. He then led me into a separate room. In this room, a kind of pine green mural hung on the wall with a glass display case beneath it. I saw three yellow rings in the display case and each ring had red symbols around the band. "This is the Masked history."

"Masked history?" I asked.

"Yes. The Masked is an ancient secret society." He said. "It began 3000 years ago by a man named Azar. You see, along with the Masked there is also the Scath." He continued.

3000 years ago, the Scath worshiped an evil demon named Trigon. Their master ordered them to bring Trigon into this world. In order to do this, they needed the Gem.

The Gem is the son or daughter of Trigon. The Gem is a part of Trigon's evil and therefore gets some of his power. When they come of age, the Gem must use their power to turn themselves into a portal that Trigon can escape through and come to this world.

Before this event could come to pass, a man named Azar feared for the world and created three powerful rings. They were the Rings of Azar. The first was the ring of defense; it could protect you from Trigons dark powers. The second was the ring of banishment; it would force Trigon back into the fire dimension from whence he came. The third was the ring of purification; it could purify the world of Trigons evil and make Earth the way it was before.

The Scath forced the Gem to chant the prophecy and become the portal; the Earth was destroyed. When the Earth was destroyed, the skies turned red, the seas turned to lava, and all the land was little more than charcoal. All the people in the world were turned into nothing but statures. But Azar escaped this fate since he was wore the ring of defense. While protected by the ring of defense, Azar used the other two rings to force Trigon back and purify the Earth all the.

Once The Earth was restored, no one knew what had happened except the Scath and Azar. Convinced that the Scath would try again to bring Trigon back, Azar started up the organization known as the Masked. He made sure the Masked was kept secret. He recruited martial arts masters, experts in machinery and explosives, as well as deception and stealth experts. Making sure that the Masked would be ready to fight the Scath whenever need be.

Since none of the people Azar got could learn all of the techniques, he began recruiting young people to learn every technique. These 'kids' followed under the command of several trainers, but when it came time for them to take apprentices they had enough knowledge that it only took one master to train each new apprentice. And so it went on for 3000 years. Whenever a new form of combat arose, the Masked would learn it. A new explosive, they got it. New machines, they made them.

"The Masked have kept mankind safe for thousands of years, even though the rest of humanity has no idea that the Masked even exist." The kid finished.

"So, Shaun. It is Shaun, right?" I said. "What am I here for?"

"You have been chosen to become my next apprentice." The man said. "Shaun here is ready to graduate from apprentice to warrior. The Masked council must choose a new apprentice to follow in the footsteps left by Azar. And, Slade, you have been chosen. Congratulations."

"What do you mean, I've been chosen? To join this cult?" I asked.

"To be a part of something important. You are an excellent fighter, Slade. Never has anyone as young as you been able to present such a challenge to me in a fight."

"Do I have to make a decision now?" I asked.

"You have one day to comply. If you choose to become a Masked you must leave everything from your old life behind." The man said. I believe he was a master. "You can take no items of your old life with you, and no one will know who or where you are."

"That's a big commitment." I said.

"You have until this time tomorrow to make your choose. You may go home now." Shaun said. With that, they showed me out and I made my way home.


	4. Decision

Decision

I awoke the next morning, groggy. Staying up passed midnight would get any 10-year-old sleepy, but besides that thoughts kept running through my mind. Scath. Masked. Trigon. Azar. Leave family and friends, or forget what the man in the mask said.

I had to make a decision today. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and looked at the clock. "Ahh!" I said. "9:30! I'm late!" I jumped out of bed and made for the door when my mom caught me.

"Slade, I called the school." She said. "I told them you were sick. Don't worry." She took me back to my bed and tucked me in.

"Why did you tell the school that?" I asked.

"Because you're never late like this and you never sleep in." She replied. "You must have something." She stood up and made for the door.

"Mom," I called.

"Yes, dear?"

"If you had to make the chose of doing something good or staying with your family, which would you choose?"

She was disturbed by my question. "Slade," she said, "are you hiding something?"

"Of coarse not." I lied.

She came back and sat on the foot of my bed. "It depends. If it's something you know has to be done, then maybe you might have to. But if it's just something you want to do, then you have to make up your own mind." With that, she got off my bed and went out my door. "Good-bye, son."

"Good-bye, mom." I was left alone. Left to ponder the words of my mother. If I had known that that was the last time I was ever going to see my mother I would've said something more. Minutes seemed to pass like hours. After what seemed like an eternity, my father returned home.

"Slade," my father called.

"Yeah, dad?" I replied.

"Boy, your mother wanted to give you this." My dad handed me a silver necklace with a gold "S" hanging on it. "I don't know why she gave you that, but take it anyway."

That night my mother did not return. I didn't know why at the time. I remember having a hilarious time watching my father attempt to make dinner. He tried hamburgers, those looked like charcoal after ten minutes. Eventually we just ordered pizza.

That night, I lay wide-awake in my bed. Watching the clock. Once both hands reached the 12 I rose from my bed and headed for the window. Once I got to the window I stopped. Before I left I grabbed the "S" necklace and hung it around my neck.

I went strait to the street corner and waited. After only 15 minutes, Shaun came out of the darkness. "Has your decision been made?" He asked.

"Yes," I said, "I will join the Masked."

"Then come with me." Shaun led me back to the alley and opened the same door. When we walked in, we walked right passed the mural and came to an elevator.

Shaun pressed the down button and as we waited, I noticed his uniform had changed. Instead of the full front left side of the shirt being orange, only the upper left corner of the shirt was orange now. "Is that a new uniform?" I asked.

"Yes." Shaun replied. "This is the uniform of a warrior." The elevator arrived and the doors opened. I was surprised that he had gone from apprentice to warrior in only 24 hours.

We entered the elevator and I said, "Which floor are we going to?"

"None of these floors." Shaun said. He opened a second panel that had a half-orange, half-black button on it. "This is the floor." He pushed the button and BAM! The elevator was moving sideways. After only 10 seconds, it came to a stop and the doors opened.

Standing outside was the man in a mask.


	5. New Master

New Master

The man in the mask stood outside as if waiting for us. "Warrior Shaun, I see you have brought Slade." He said. "Has he made his decision?"

"Yes, Master." Shaun said. "He has decided to become a masked."

"Good." Master said. "Come with me, Slade." Master turned around and walked to another room, as I fallowed. When he opened the door I saw a pillar of light that shown a black and orange jumpsuit with metal plates on the chest, wrists, shoulders, and ankles. "Change into this." The Master said. "And nice bling, by the way." He said referring to my "S" necklace.

He walked out of the room and I removed my old cloths and put on the jumpsuit. Obviously it was an apprentice outfit. The one thing I kept was the "S" necklace. The one thing that still tied me to my past.

I came out of the room in the apprentice suit. "You will be my next apprentice." The masked man said. "And from now on, you will refer to me as Master."

"Yes, Master." I said.

"Fallow me, apprentice." He said. "Training shall begin eminently."

_Three years later . . . ._

I progressed fast for an apprentice. I learned to use the exploding disc and was trained in the ancient art of stick fighting. As well I could use the two-sided blade. Plus I was training my muscles so I could run faster and longer, jump higher and farther, and have much better reflexes. My master said I was proving to be an excellent apprentice.

I didn't think of my family all the time. All though I missed them, I didn't spend every second thinking about them. I'd taken the "S" off its chain and sewn in into my apprentice outfit. It was placed on the orange side of the shirt, signifying that I was Slade the greatest there was.

One night I was training with the two-sided blade, which was shaped like a "Z" with a small amount of explosives in the center. It was the one weapon that I had the most trouble handling. I aimed at the target and threw. As it sailed through the air it began to drift to the left. It hit the bull's eye right on the outer most rings. "Slade, You have to get better at this." Master scolded. "A good masked can throw four or five of these a minute and not have to spend any time aiming."

All Around me other masked apprentices were also training. Some using sticks, others using explosive discs'. I was the only one experienced enough to use the two-sided blade.

The bell for the elevator rang and the doors opened. I looked and saw a woman in a long, black robe with a hood that hid her face and sleeves that flowed over her hands. In the center of her chest was a pin that had an "S" on it that seemed to be made of fire. Instantly I knew what that symbol meant. "Scath." I said.

Master looked and his eyes widened. In an instant, he pulled two exploding disc' from his belt and threw them at the Scath. She jumped amazingly high and easily dodged the disc'. She then jabbed her leg forward and struck Master in the face. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

The Scath landed as easily as a cat in front of me. Spinning around on one foot, she pulled the legs out from under me and I fell too. Shaun attacked, throwing a powerful punch at her. She grabbed his arm, pulled him around, and elbowed him in the back. Another apprentice swung his fighting rod at the Scath. But she easily grabbed the other end, and threw the kid over her head.

Without thinking, I grabbed one of the two-sided blades and threw it with all my strength. The sharp blade slashed across her back and tore a line of blood. She screamed and reached her arm back around to clutch at the wound.

Once again without thinking, I attacked. I jumped and kneed her in the stomach. Then elbowed her in the back of the neck. Even as she recovered, I leapt in the air and slammed the heel of my boot into the small of her back.

As she lay on the ground mouning, I pulled a two-sided blade from my belt, grabbed her hood and pulled her head back. "This ends now!" I said. I pulled her head back so I could look into her face. The face I saw was that of . . . . "Mom?"


	6. Dark surprises

Dark surprises

I dropped the blade and staggered away. What horrible thing made her join the very society I was fighting to destroy? Why? That was the only thought that entered my mind at the time.

She picked up the two-sided blade and threw it at me with great force! Without thinking, I reached into my belt, pulled out a steel pole and blocked the blade. "Mom, what are you doing?" I yelled.

Her face of hatred faded away into a look of surprise. And then horror. "Slade?" She said.

"Yes, it's me, mom." I said. I shrunk the pole back to its compatible size and put it back in my belt. "Why are you doing this?"

"I . . . I don't know." She said. "The Scath. After you left they came to me and said that if I joined them they'd help me find you."

"So you became Scath to find a Masked?" I said.

She gasped. And then turned away and ran. "Wait!" I called after her. But she didn't wait. She stepped into the elevator and was gone again.

It was the next day that I read about her suicide in the newspaper. Apparently, she tied herself up in a car, put it one cruise control and drove it over the edge of a cliff. The letter they found said, 'I'd rather end my life than spend it fighting my son.'

I was torn apart. The only connection left to her and the world I knew before was the 'S' I had sewn into my apprentice outfit. All though I wasn't an apprentice long after that. I was promoted to warrior the very next day.

Years went by. The pain eased away, slowly but surely. I was growing to be the greatest Masked warrior ever. I ran in many missions. Fought my fair share of Scath. Even found a way to build Masked robots.

Masked robots look almost exactly like a master would, except instead of the facemask being split down the middle there was an orange circle with in a black circle. And the robots acted more like ninja than Masked.

One such mission included going out into the forest to search for the Forces of Nature. We had to find Thunder and Lightning. On this mission; Master led the way even though he didn't teach me strait on. Also Shaun came with us. He was still higher ranked than me, but not by much.

"Remember," Master said to us. "We have to find Thunder and Lightning before the Scath have a chance to. So spread out."

We did just that. We spread out and looked over the entire forest but we couldn't find Thunder and Lightning. I jumped from tree to tree looking. I didn't find Nature Forces, I found Scath. I was perched on a tree branch when I saw a circle meeting of Scath below me.

"Listen, we have reason to believe that Masked are in this forest." One said. "We also believe they are searching for Thunder and Lightning: the Legendary Forces of Nature."

"We have to stop them." Another said. I was watching and listening so intently that I didn't see the stick I was holding on to splintering. Suddenly it snapped, loudly. The Scath looked right at me. "Masked." They said. One of them took a knife out of his vest and threw it at me. Quickly, I jumped off the tree and fell to the ground, dodging the knife.

"What is it with everyone throwing pointy objects at me?" I said. The three Scath each pulled out a scythe or other large blade weapon. "Oh, great." I reached back into belt and pulled out the steel pole. A Scath swung the scythe at me. Quickly I blocked with the rod. I jabbed the lower end of the stick into their stomach and then started to run.

The Scath followed me through the forest. I used the stick to pole-boast into the trees and then started jumping from branch to branch. The blades of their scythes reach into the trees for me, but not one could catch me. I jumped from the tree to the ground, using my fighting stick to block a scythe blade.

I ran into the bushes and found where I stashed it. My dirt bike. The three of us had brought dirt bikes in case something like this would happen. I hopped on the bike opened the throttle and the engine roared to life. I zoomed away. Unfortunately, they also had dirt bikes and they continued to chase me. I put the steel stick back into my belt and pulled out an exploding disk. I threw it behind me and caught one of them, but that still left three after me.

I was riding so fast I barely had time to see Shaun and Master. "Slade, What are-"

"TALK LATER! RUN NOW!" I yelled. The they saw the Scath riding behind me.

"What did you do, Slade?" Master scolded.

"I listened in on their conversation!" I said.

They hopped on their dirt bikes and joined me in trying to out run the Scath. From behind, One Scath pulled out another knife and threw it at me again. This time they shredded my back tire and punkchered my gas tank. Being an idiot, I revved up the engine and a spark from the spark plug hit the open gas tank.

The gas exploded blowing my bike up from the inside and throwing me some 30 feet into the forest. "We got one!" A Scath said.

"Leave him, he's dead." Another said.

"Slade!" Shaun cried.

"We can't go back for him now." Master said.

It was just about now that I drifted out of consiousness. I lied there for hours. Undisturbed. Defensless. I had no idea I was being moved, by someone.


	7. The Old One's sorcery

**The Old One's sorcery**

I lay unconscious for I don't know how long. Lost in a world of darkness. My eyes then fluttered open and I saw I was no longer in the forest. I sat up and rubbed my head. I felt like a car had hit me. When I looked around I saw I was in a cabin in the woods. There was a table against the wall with a single chair, a bed in the other room, shelves with a lot of jars on them on another wall, a fire burning in the fire place, and an old man sitting in a rocking chair next to the fire.

"Good, your awake." He said. He was wearing a long purpleish - redish rode, a big, yellow, almost sombrero-like hat, and he held a staff in his hand.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"Your in my humble abode. I found you in the forest lying half dead. That impact must have really put you out." He said. "You must be hungry. Come." He walked past me and into a different room. I got to my feet, astonished at how mush energy I'd lost, and followed. I didn't know if I trusted this guy, he wasn't a Masked. But he obviously wasn't a Scath either so it wouldn't hurt.

We came into a kitchen where a wood-burning stove heated a pot of soup. The old man grabbed two bowls and filled them with soup. "What is your name, boy?" He asked.

I didn't see any harm in telling him. "Slade." I said.

"Slade, huh." He repeated. "Kind of has a dark and mysterious ring to it, doesn't it?"

I thought for a second and yes it did have a somewhat scary tendency to it. "Honestly I never really noticed." I said. "What is your name?"

"Ha," He said. "I've lived by myself for so long that I've forgotten my own name." The thought occurred to me that this guy could be insane. "You can just call me Old One."

He handed me a bowl and spoon. "Here, Slade." He took his own bowl and led me to the table. "Sorry, there isn't another chair. You can just bring the rocker over here." I took the rocking chair away from the fireplace and brought it to the table. My eye caught sight of the jars filled with powders on the shelves.

"What are all those for?" I asked, pointing to the jars.

"Nothing gets past you." He said. "Those are my many magic's."

"What?"

"Yes. Unlike you, who's power comes from within, my power comes from nature and the world around me." He said. "After dinner, I'll show you a little of my power."

He was true to his word. When we finished dinner he took a jar filled with green powder outside and poured a little into his hand. "Do you know what this does?" I shook my head. "I'll show you." He blew the powder from his hand in an arc and where the powder fell, grass began to grow instantly. I have to admit, I was impressed. "But my power goes beyond growing grass, to include the four basic elements. Air, water, earth, and fire. Of them all, fire is the most unstable and destructive, and the most powerful."

"Please, Old One, I wish to learn these powers." I said.

"Very well. Let us begin."


	8. The Way of the Sorcerer

**The Way's of the Sorcerer**

The Old One first took a staff, with a Chinese word on the end, from the house. "One of the first things you must learn to do is retrieve and item."

"What do you mean, retrieve an item?" I asked.

"In a battle situation, you're only as good as your weapon. If your weapon is lost, you are lost." He said. "Try to take this staff from me."

"Okay." I swung a fist at his stomach. He easily sidestepped and them hit me on both sides of the face with the Chinese letter.

"You are faster than this, I know you are." He then pole-volted over me and swung the staff under my legs. Before he could trip me, I jumped forward. Then used my hands to flip forward two times. While in the air the second time, I turned in midair, pulled three exploding disks from my belt and threw them with incredible speed toward the Old One. I knew he could not possibly dodge this.

He didn't have to dodge. A cloud of purple smoke suddenly puffed out of nowhere and he disappeared. The disks flew harmlessly past. I landed on my feet. "A disappearing act. Nice trick."

"It's a ninjitsue. A ninja trick I learned a while ago." Suddenly he was behind me! He jabbed the staff at me from behind.

But I had seen this, I quickly sidestepped the attack, grabbed the staff and yanked it away from the Old One. I threw it as far as I could from the Old One. "I have succeeded."

He then simply held out his hand and the staff that I had thrown aside, jumped from the ground and came back to his hand. "Yes you have, but if this were a real battle situation, your troubles would not be over. I will first teach you to retrieve an item." He walked back to the shack. I followed. Once inside, he took a special powder off his shelf, opened the top, and poured a little into his hand. "This magic allows you to pull an item back toward you. But the item must be enchanted as well, or else it won't work. You must also chant the words, Yamju Amitsh Woo. A very simple spell."

"That's it? I expected something more complex." I said.

"Don't worry, Slade. This next thing will be very difficult. Come to the river." He took his staff and exited the cabin. Once again, I followed.

We came to the river, and once there, Old One propped his staff against a tree. He then held out his hands over the water. He pulled back, like he was practicing some kind of kungfu, and I saw the water was moving with his hands. A back and forth wave motion completely insinc with his hand movements.

"What is that?" I asked, astonished.

"It is a special magic that requires intense focus, as well as a magic powder. You must feel the water and allow it to become part of you. This is one of the most important thing you will learn."

"What do you mean?"

"I have not time to teach you all the magic I have learned, but I know you are in a war, so I will teach you how to create the fire creature." He said.

"The fire creature?" I asked.

"It requires very dangerous and powerful spells, and it could be hard to control. So you must learn to control water first. The first rule of creating a dangerous weapon, is knowing how to destroy it."

That's when I realized. "The water controlling is incase I lose control of the fire monster and it goes on a rampage, I can stop it."

"Exactly." He said. "Come stand next to the river, and practice the same movements I have shown you." I walked to the edge of the river and held out my arms. "Widen your stance." He instructed. I did as told. "Wider. Good. Now first, breath in and pull your arms back." I pulled back with my arms and breathed in deep. "Breath in through your nose and out your mouth."

The water did not move. "Why am I practicing something I can't do?"

"It is better for you to learn the movements before you can move the water. Just as it is better to learn how to sight in a gun before you fire your first shot." He replied. "Come."

The Old One led me back to the cabin. Once inside, he took a jar filled with blue powder from the shelf. "This little powder will give you temporary control of water. Atlantians always keep a steady supply on hand, I only have a little."

"Atlantians?" I asked.

"You don't think controlling water is a natural thing for them. All atlantians are still basically normal humans who have learned to breath underwater and talk to the fishes." He opened the top of the jar and poured a little into his hand. "Mix this with water, drink it, and it will give you about two weeks worth of water control." He poured the powder into a glass, filled the glass with water and handed it to me. "Drink this."

I took the glass and drank the water. A strange sensation filled my body, like water had really become a part of me. "Now," The Old One said. "Lets practice." We went back out to the river and I resumed pushing a pulling. This time, the water did move with me.

"This is amazing!" I exclaimed.

"It is rather incredible the first time. But now it's time to learn how to create the fire creature."


	9. Creating the Fire Creature

**Creating the Fire Monster**

The Old One pulled a scroll out of his sleeve and unrolled it. On it, were 15 different symbols. "To create the creature of fire, you will need targets. At least 15. And those 15 targets must have these symbols on them in this order. And the targets must be made of sticks and leave."

"So now you want me to make 15 stick and leaf target with symbols on them?" I asked.

"The symbols must be painted on, to say, with this magic powder. Then they must be set ablaze." He said. "I'll explain more once you are done making the targets."

I sighed and got to work. Making targets of sticks and leaves to stand on stilts isn't easy, but I managed. Once I was done making the targets, I took the white powder and smeared it onto the front of the targets in the shape of the symbols. When I was finally done with that, I stepped back the Old One's side. "Now what?"

"Observe." He swung his arm swiftly in a great arc and flames flew from his fingers. "I told you I could control the four basic elements." The flames hit the targets and the sticks burst into a glorious display of lights and sound. He continued throwing the fire until every target was consumed in flames. "Now for the final trick." He reached into his sleeve again and pulled out a small disk. He threw this into the air. In the sky, it hovered and then started glowing red. A red beam shot down from the disk and hit the first target. The beam then continued to spread from one target to the next like it was playing connect the dots.

Once every target was connected, the beams also erupted into flames and smoke. Smoke that blocked the flames from view. Then stepping out from the smoke came a creature that walked like a man, but was made of the fire. "Behold, the fire creature." The Old One said.

"That's the fire creature?" I asked.

"Slade, now that you know how to make it, do you know how to destroy it?" The Old One asked.

Quickly, I held my hand toward the river, and the water started to bulge. I flung my arm forward and a blast of water slammed against the fire, the creature cried out in pain, but it soon went out. "You have done it." The Old One said. "I have taught you all I can."

It was then that I heard the whirr of bike engines. "Uh, oh. We need to hide." The Old One and I climbed into the bushes to await the intruders. As the wound came closer, I reached into my belt and pulled out a two-sided blade.

Two bikes came into view and Shaun and Master stepped off. "I know I saw that fire thing here." Shaun said.

"Are you sure? What makes you think Slade is down here?" Master asked.

I was to overcome with the sight of them, I forgot I was supposed to be hiding. I placed the weapon back into my belt and stood up. "Shaun, Master!" I said.

They both looked at me in surprise. "Slade." Master said. "Where have you been?"

"Do not fear, Masked Warriors." The Old One said, as he stood up. "I have been keeping an Eye on him for these past days."

"Ah, good to see you again, Old One." Master said.

"Slade, before you go I need to give you a few things." Old One led me back into his house. He handed me two yellow disks, two small sacks of powder, and a short staff. "These will allow you to create the fire creature and control water. Use them sparingly, for it will be very difficult to acquire more. And take this." He handed me the scroll. "So you will know of the symbols you need."

With that, I bid the Old One a fond farewell, and rode away with Shaun and Master back to the Masked headquarters.


	10. Confrontation

**Confrontation**

I rode on the back of Shaun's bike. All the special powders and spells the Old One had given me were tucked safely away in my belt. "So that's where you were, Slade." Shaun said.

"Yeah," I replied. "Master, how do you know the Old One?"

Master looked at me. His eyes stared through his black and orange mask. "He was a Masked once." Master said. "A very powerful one too."

"But. . ."

"But he didn't want to fight in such a devastating war. He was a peace-loving fellow. He left the Masked and took up learning about sorcery and magic instead."

We rode out of the forest and came back to the city. We drove down streets and finally came to the alley. We took the elevator back down to the training hall. "The Masked council is waiting to hear from you." Master said.

Once Shaun stepped out, Master closed the door and we went up a couple floors. "What does the Masked council want from me?" I asked.

"I don't know exactly what they want from you, but the way they asked for you means it can't be good." Master replied.

The elevator doors opened and we were standing in the presents of five other Masked masters. They sat at an arced table to form a half circle. As I stepped out of the elevator, Master placed a hand on my shoulder and said, "Slade, be careful. Every Masked in this room is older, wiser, stronger, and more experienced then even myself. Don't do anything foolish." He then stepped back into the elevator and left.

"Slade." The Masked sitting in the middle called to me. "Step forward." I did as I was told. "I am Master Kinchi, the highest-ranking Masked master in the world. I'll get right to the point. Slade, you are very powerful. Your friend Shaun and your master tell me that you have progressed faster than any other apprentice before you. They say that after only two years as a Masked, you were experienced enough to go against a Scath assassin and win."

"I only won because the assassin happened to be my mother." I remarked bluntly.

"Yes, and that must have been hard on you." Master Kinchi said. "But I believe that your power is making you arrogant and hard-headed. This last mission you went on proved my point. I'm sorry, but I might have to suspend you."

"What?" I exclaimed.

"You will be suspended from the next mission that your master will go on. That is an order. You are dismissed." Master Kinchi glared at me.

I sighed. "Yes, sir." I stepped back to the elevator and left back to the training hall. Once I got out, Shaun and Master were waiting for me. "I don't believe this."

"What happened?" Shaun asked.

"They suspended me from the next mission!" I exclaimed. "Because they said I was too hard-headed."

I stomped off and went to the archives. At the front of the archives was the mural that told of the legend of Azar. The glass display case beneath it held the three Rings of Azar. Each ring was labeled for the particular ring that it was. But I walked right past the rings and came to the large area filled with books. I remembered something I had seen back here.

I thumbed my fingers along the spines of the books. Passing books like the Book of Narl, the Legend of Rorick the Wizard and Malcior the Dragon, and the Words of Egasning the Strange. But none of these books meant anything to me right now. I finally found the book I was looking for. I pulled it off the self and read the cover. The True Master, it read.

"What are you doing?" I looked and saw Shaun standing in the hallway.

"What do you mean?"

"I know the Masked council suspended you, but you have to go with it."

"They suspended me from a single mission." I said. "Not confined me to my quarters." I placed the book on a table, flipped it open, and started reading.

"So now you're reading about the True Master." Shaun said. "What are you planning?"

"What?"

"You are planning something and it has to do with the True Master. You're planning to visit him and learn to be the better warrior." Shaun said.

"What gives you such an idea?" I said. "But yes. I am going to be the best Masked there has ever been, and the True Master will teach me how."

"You were not told to go to the True Master by the Masked council. If you go, they will not only suspend you, they will expel you from the Masked order entirely." Shaun said.

"You forget. In order to expel me, I must fight another Masked in a one-on-one match. So once I come back, someone will have to beat me if they want to expel me." I said.

"You are too sure of your power, Slade. Even if you train with the True Master and gain his knowledge, wisdom, and skill, you will probably have to face Master Kinchi and that's a fight you won't win."

I stood up and pushed the book away. "We'll see about that."


	11. Seeking the True Master

**Seeking the True Master**

I took the True Master book back to my quarters. Once there, I got an old duffle back and started packing changes of clothes, weapons and tools, food preserves, and finally the book on top. I left the special powders and spells the Old One had given me. It would be unfair if I took those along too.

Shaun stood in the doorway while I was stuffing clothes into the duffle bag. He was leaning up against the wall. "Are you sure there is nothing I could say or do to change your mind?" He asked.

"No, Shaun." I replied. "I'm going to train with the True Master and that's it." I placed the book in the bag and zipped it up. I swung the strap over my shoulder and headed for the door.

"You don't even know where the True Master is." Shaun protested.

"Legend has it he lives on the other side of the world in the Himalayas. That is where I'm going." I said.

"Oh, yeah right. You're going to go to China and climb a mountain just to find someone who might not even train you. That's just great, Slade."

"Sorry, man. I'm going. Wish me luck." I said as I approached the elevator.

"And what will I tell everyone?" Shaun asked.

"If anyone asks where I am, lie." I said. I then stepped into the elevator and was off.

Since this is a coastal city on the west coast, I thought it wouldn't be all that hard to find a ship heading toward China. I was wrong. I checked all the ship schedules and only found one ship headed off in that direction. But it was going off to Thailand! Besides that, it was a fret ship. Only carrying cargo.

So it was time for me to go incognito. Before the ship left, I got on and hid beneath the decks. Of coarse, being a Masked, holding the position of warrior, I could easily hide away without anyone knowing I was there.

It was a long, **boring**, three-week trip across the ocean. Hiding in the old, rusty, not to mention cold hull of a ship gets really dull after the first thirteen hours. My food preserves didn't last as long as I'd hoped they would. The ships crew was a little bewildered to find some of their food missing. To keep myself entertained, I practiced my battle moves and attacks. I once got in a fight against a big wooded box. The crew was also surprised to find a punch hole strait through the wooded sides and even denting the object inside. I don't know what the item was but I know it was hard.

I also read up about the True Master. While reading I found that in order to get to the top of his mountain, I would have to pass three challenges. Well that was just great.

The ship finally docked in Thailand and I was off without the crew knowing I had ever gotten on. A few of them were still confused with the missing food and slightly damaged cargo. If you call smashed and basically destroyed slightly damaged.

From then on out I hitch hiked my way from Thailand to the southern end of China. That, in itself, took at least a week. When I finally got there, I found a small village at the foot of a mountain. Inside the village was a statue of a great warrior with a sign that said 'True Master' next to it.

I walked into the village and no one seemed to notice me, even when I walked up to them. There was a guy sitting on his cart being pulled by an ox. I walked up to him and asked, "Excuse me, do you know how I can find the True Master?" He didn't even look up when I talked to him. He just went about his business. "Boy, people aren't very nice here."

"You seek the True Master?" A man said. He was tall, much taller than myself, and very muscular. He was bald and had a very serious face. He wore a large black robe with deep red trimming.

"Yeah," I replied slowly, "why?"

He pointed out to a field on the edge of the village. In the field was an old woman planting turnips. "She will tell you about the True Master." He said.

"Thank you."

"You are welcome. My name is Katigeri." He then left.


	12. First Challange: River Guadian

**First Challenge: River Guardian**

I walked to the field were the old woman was working. "Excuse me." I said to her.

"Go away!" She called back. She threw a turnip at me with amazing speed and power. Although I was surprised by the act, I did easily catch the plant as it came toward me.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I've come to train with the True Master." I said, still holding the turnip.

"Of coarse you are. The only people who come to this village want to train with the True Master." She stood up and started walking toward me. "But the True Master will not train you."

"I have to train with him, my future in my culture depends on it." I said.

"If you are so serious about making it up this mountain, then come with me." She said. She lead me back to a small hut and handed me a white karate-like robe. "The True Master will not train you in your new world clothes, you must ware the outfit of our culture."

I took the robe and went into a different room. I unfolded the robe and looked down on it. _White belt. I far surpassed white belt. I'm higher skilled than the most skilled black belt._ I thought as I changed into it. I came back out and found the old woman going through my stuff! "Hey, what are you doing?" I asked.

"I will keep hold of these until you come back down from the mountain. Since the True Master will not train you with your weapons." She said.

I snorted a little. "Fine." I said.

"Come, I will show you where the path begins." She went out the door and across her field to the edge of a bridge. "To reach the True Master, you must make it to the top of the mountain before the sun sets." She said, and started walking away. "Good luck."

I stepped on the bridge and walked till I came to the place where the bridge fell away into the river. I knew I had no grapple hook or any thing along the lines, which meant I would have to swim across. But as I was about to step into the water, I heard a deep voice behind me. "Are you sure you wish to do that? The current is strong and the water cold." I looked behind me and saw a large brown bear wearing chest armor tied around him with a red belt and the symbol of the river engraved on it.

"Did you just talk?" I asked.

"There is no one else here. Doesn't that mean I was the one who spoke?" The bear said. "I am the Guardian of the River. If you wish to cross and proceed to find the True Master, you must defeat me."

I smirked. "I will defeat you." I said. I charged at the bear, jumped and delivered a powerful kick to the chest. But the bear easily blocked and with a swipe of his arm, knocked me into the wooden railing of the bridge. The wood gave as if it were made of toothpicks.

"Are you so certain?" He said. He swung his arm down toward me, but I jumped to the left and dodged his claws. I punched him hard in the side, but he hardly seemed to notice. He backhanded me in the face and I was thrown back. Just as I was getting back on my feet, he put his claws together and charged at me. "Claws of the Iron Bear!" He cried and struck me dead in the chest.

Getting hit like that was like getting hit by a train. I was tossed back like a rag doll. Once I hit the ground I didn't move for a while. I crawled back to my feet and stared at the bear. "I will not be defeated so easily and so early in my quest. I will make it up that mountain." I said. I raced toward the bear and when I got close enough, I jumped over the great bear and struck him in the back of the head with my foot.

He turned to attack me, but I once again jumped over him. Once behind him, I placed my hands together the same way he did and thrust them forward, "Claws of the Iron Bear!" I cried as I hit him in the small of his back.

The power of that attack was amazing. From that one hit, the bear was thrown over the length of the bridge and into the river. Keep in mind that the river was close to thirty feet away from where we stood.

The bear stood up out of the water and said, "You may proceed. But I warn you, once you cross the river you cannot return." He then swam away. A bridge suddenly raised from the river link the two shorelines.

"Remember my name. Slade, Masked warrior. Soon to be the best Masked ever." I called after the bear. I then crossed the river.


	13. Second Challenge: Cave Guardian

**Second Challenge: Cave Guardian**

I crossed the river and continued on my journey up the mountain. I spent many hours climbing that mountain. I once had to walk across a part of the path that was covered with small rocks. Normally, this wouldn't have concerned me but since I left my shoes behind I basically hobbled over the rocks. I made a mental note at that point. Never leave your shoes behind when climbing a mountain in the Himalayas.

Every once in a while I stumbled upon the old woman also climbing the mountain. Most of my questions about how she got there were answered with simple, obvious, responses.

I soon saw that the path curved its way into a cave. I walked into the cave and felt my way through most of the cave until I came to a chamber that was lit by a single candle. And the path just disappeared. "Hey, where'd the path go?" I asked.

"You can not see it." A raspy hissing voice said. I saw movement in the cave and suddenly I saw the giant pale serpent slithering its way across the cave floor. It rose up behind the candle wearing a ragged old shirt over its head. It somehow was able to move the sleeves (don't know how since snakes don't have arms) and push back the hood, to reveal a round face with empty white eyes and a mouth full of fangs. "I am the guardian of the cave. If you wish to proceed, you must get past me." The snake said.

I could tell its eyes were blank and empty, caused by cataracts. "You're blind." I pointed out. "I don't want to fight an uneven match, but if I have to I will."

"There is no need." The snake said. It swung the sleeve of the ragged shirt over the candle, the flame went out, and the cave instantly became pitch black. "Now the fight is even. For neither of us can see."

Once the cave went black, I suddenly felt out in the open. Exposed if you will. Now the serpent had the advantage. Since he lived in the cave without any light, he had to know his way around in the dark. My eyes were completely useless. It didn't make much difference whether I had them open or closed.

The snake struck from behind. It slammed its head against my back, shoving me against the stone wall. "You cannot trust your eyes if you wish to find me." The snake hissed. I struck were the sound had come from but only it rock, hurting my foot. "Nor can you trust your ears." He struck again, snapping with his jaws. I was just able to dodge the attacks while throw my own. But each of my attacks missed.

I realized I would have to sense him without using my senses. Somehow I would have to find him without finding him. I closed my eyes and let all the world's sounds, smells, feels, and sights, fall away. I found that I could easily tell where the snake was. But then I sensed something else. Someone else was in the cave.

"Someone else is in here." I said.

"I sense it, too." The snake replied.

Then a sight, a sound, and fell came back to me. I saw bright orange, heard a loud roaring and felt extreme heat. All of these were coming toward us. "Look out!" I yelled. I tackled the snake just as a ball of fire flew past us. The flames struck the cave wall and instantly dissipated.

"What was that?" The snake asked.

"I thought you were supposed to be a great guardian of the True Master, slimy serpant." I saw two more balls of flames appear. Then I saw that they were being held in the hands of a person in a black robe with the hood covering his face. In the center of his forehead, the Mark of Scath burned brightly.

I knew exactly what is was. "Scath."


	14. Third Challange: Tree Guardian

**Third Challenge: Tree Guardian**

"Scath." I said with hate.

"Ah, Slade. It is good to see you after so long. Like my new power?" He said, holding up his fire-covered hand.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"Only what I was sent to do, destroy you!" He threw a ball of fire from his hand. I managed to dodge, but just barely. He extinguished the fire in his hands and the cave went dark again. It was suddenly like I was blind. "It's hard to fight when you can't see."

"Yes. Which means you have just as much of a disadvantage as I do." I said.

"Not quite. I have power over fire and heat. I can see your body heat." I saw him then reach with his now orange glowing hand and a vine or rope flew from his hand and wrapped itself around my body. I struggled but I couldn't escape his trap. "This bind is made of pure heat energy. You can't break it."

Suddenly, the snake leapt from its hiding place and slammed its head against the Scath's body. He fell to the ground and the heat bind that held me dissipated. "Move, young warrior!" The snake cried. "I grant you permission to proceed. You must warn the True Master of this. I will hold him off as long as possible." A wall in the cave opened up and the cave was instantly lit. The Scath stood up again and his hands burst into flames, but the serpent threw its body against the Scath again. "What are you waiting for? Go!"

I started running. I ran out the cave and back into the glorious sunlight. But I couldn't stop to appreciate it. I just kept running. After running for a while, I came to a small ravine filled with bamboo trees. The same gateway that was at the edge of the river and at the entrance of the cave was on the edge of the ravine. I stepped up to the gateway and a little white monkey jumped onto the path in front of me. "I am the Guardian of the Tree." The monkey laughed. "If you . . ."

"Wish to proceed, I must get past you." I interrupted. "I know, I know."

The monkey laughed again. "Of coarse you know, this is only the third time you heard it today."

"Look, guardian person, I don't have time for this. There is a Scath assassin coming this way and I have to get to the True Master to warn him." I said.

"Oh, that is very urgent. But, you still have to pass my challenge." The monkey back flipped off the path and started jumping from bamboo tree to bamboo tree. "The bear's test was a test of strength, the snake's test was a test of sense's, my test is a test of balance."

"Fine." I stepped out onto the trees.

"Good. Then let us begin." The monkey cried out a screeching shriek as it jumped toward me. I jumped at it at the same time. I swung a powerful arm chop at the animal, but he just grabbed my arm and used it to leap over my head. It landed on one foot balancing. I landed, but was hardly able to stay standing. The monkey jumped at me from behind, but I struck it with the back of my hand. It flew backward and I saw that it couldn't grab hold of any tree. I forgot about its tail. It easily wrapped its tail around a tree and swung itself back on top. "I believe I have an advantage."

"We'll see." I said. I jumped toward the monkey, but purposely missed. I grabbed hold of the tree right next to him and swung around on it like a trapezes artist. I delivered a powerful kick to the monkey's face and it went flying.

It landed back on the other side of the ravine. It stood up and laughed again. "Very well, you may proceed." From the ground beneath, grew hundreds of other trees creating a bridge for me to cross on. I may have past the third challenge, But I still had too much more to do before I could rest.


	15. Final Challange: the Fire Scath

**Final Challenge: the Fire Scath**

I continued to trek up the mountain. I was taking hours to climb this mountain. Eventually, the sky grew orange and the sun sank lower into the sky.

I was starting to believe that the Cave Guardian snake probably hadn't been able to stop the Scath from advancing. By now he had probably gotten well past the snake and was fighting against the monkey. Maybe, he's already beaten the Tree Guardian monkey.

After a long agonizing walk up hill, I saw a house on the top of the mountain. I was the training building of the True Master. "Finally." I said. I started to climb the stairs up to the training house. About half way up, a bind made of heat came up from behind and wrapped around my arms and body.

"Not so fast, Slade." It was the Scath. He had gotten past the snake and the monkey. His black robe was silhouetted against the setting sun. Standing next to him was a much taller, more muscular, bald man wearing a black robe with red trim.

"Katigeri?" I asked. "What are you doing with this Scath?"

"Poor guy." The Scath said. "You should've seen the look on his three year old son's face when I forced him to help me. Oh, well. He's here to keep you busy while I complete my real mission and kill the True Master!"

"What? You can't kill the True Master. He's too powerful." I objected.

"His Guardians couldn't beat me, and neither will you." He pulled hard on the heat bind and I stumbled down a few steps. When I came close, he punched me hard in the stomach right where the breast bone ends. It easily knocked the air out of me and brought me to my knees. The heat bind dissipated and I placed my arms over my stomach. "Don't get in my way." He said. He then walked past me and left me with Katigeri.

I slowly got to my feet and held out my arms to defend me. "For the sake of my son, Katarou, I will defeat you." Katigeri said. He swung a powerful punch to my head, I ducked just in time.

While kneeling down, I stood on my hands and delivered a powerful two legged kick to Katigeri's chest. He buckled under the pain. I quickly got to my feet and slammed my elbow into the back of his neck. He swung a powerful uppercut and hit me in the chin. I was thrown to the ground.

He was on me in seconds, aiming another punch at my head. I rolled to the side and his fist only punched into rock. I got him in the side just below the ribs with a powerful kick. He yelped in pain and fell on his hands and knees, clutching his side. I jumped to my feet and gave a downward kick to the back of his head. He collapsed on the ground.

I knelt down, grabbed his robe and held one fist over his face. "Now talk!" I demanded. "Why are you working for this guy?"

Katigeri ground and blood dripped from a split lip. "I did it for my son." He said.

"Why would you degrade yourself to helping a Scath and say it's for your son? Do you think he'll be proud of his father when he hears that his father helped kill the True Master?"

"I did it because the man in the black robe with the fire powers said he would kill my family if I didn't help him. I had no choice."

When he said that, I let go of his robe. The thought of a Scath threatening to destroy ones family just to get his help disgusted me. "Help me." I said. "Help me to stop the Scath and save the True Master and your family." I held out my hand to help him up. He took my hand and I pulled him to his feet. "Let's go up there and defeat that Scath together."

We both turned to run up the stares and catch up with the Scath. It didn't take us long. We got to the top and found the Scath's hands a blaze with fire. He was aiming them at the old women. "Now tell me, you old hag, where is the True Master?"

"Leave her alone, Scath." I said. He turned, in slight surprise, to face us. "Your fight is with us."

He grinned a little. "You've made an ally of my minion. It doesn't matter. "I'll destroy you both!" He yelled. He swung his fire blazing hand at my head, but I dodged by bending my knees and leaning backward. His flaming hand swished over my head.

When I pulled myself up, I slammed my fist into his face and he staggered back. "Take him!" I said to Katigeri. "I'll go help her." I ran to the side of the old woman and grabbed her arm. "We have to get you out of here!"

"You need me." She said, pulling her arm back.

"The one we need is the True Master."

"I am the True Master." She stated.

I was in a state of shock for a moment. "You're the True Master?"

"Yes." She said. "And you need me to help you beat this criminal." She ran at the Scath and then jumped into air and aimed a powerful kick at his face.

He sidestepped her attack and then attacked himself. Swinging a fist at her head. He had to bend down to her height to do this. She ducked as his hand swung over her head. She then smacked him on both sides of the face with her walking stick.

The Scath swung his leg under her feet, but she jumped to dodge it. Unfortunately, tripping her was only his distraction. When she was in the air, he delivered another flaming punch to her stomach. This one hit its mark and the True Master went flying back. The Scath threw two balls of fire at Katigeri and he was pushed away too.

For me, he punched his hands into the ground and a row of flames ran along the ground until they got under me. When the flames got under my feet, they rushed up like a volcano and easily tossed me into the air.

I tumbled through the sky until I felt myself being pulled back toward the ground. As I fell, I saw that I had been thrown off the mountain and was falling toward the river. I covered my head with my arms and braced for impact. I hit the water and the air was instantly forced out of my lungs. I floundered to the shore and dragged myself out onto land. I panted as I lay there on the dirt.

I knew I had to get back up that mountain, but I knew that by the time I did, the match would be over and the Scath would've killed the True Master and Katigeri. I needed my old weapons. I raced back to the small hut and found my duffle bag with all my clothes in it. Quickly, I changed out of this karate suit and back into my Masked uniform. I grabbed the two-sided blade, the exploding disks, and the steel staff and was about to start up the mountain when I say a small sack in my duffle bag along with a scroll. I opened the pouch and saw that inside was the blue powder used to control water. When I unrolled the scroll I saw that it had a series of hand signs and word beneath then. I read the top of the scroll and it said "Water Dragon." I realized that is you take the powder, make the hand signs, and say the words that you could create a dragon out of water. Shaun must've slipped the water powder and the scroll into my duffle bag before I left.

I grabbed a wood cup, the pouch with the powder in it, and the scroll and ran back out to the river. I filled the cup with water, put a little bit of powder into it and rank it fast. I felt the powder of the water come back to me almost instantly. I then laid the scroll out in front of me and stood up. "Okay, here you go." I said. Then I started making the hand signs on the paper and saying the words.

"Uni, ita, erea, hiuy, tekia, ovak, sinture, lomdet, forteat, intu, queju, Torie." I said, as I made the last hand sign. "Water Style, Water Dragon!" From the river, a giant dragon made completely of water arose from the water. I was asterisk. I had succeeded in making a giant dragon out of water. But there was no time to celebrate now. The dragon lowered its head to me and I stepped up, amazed I could stand on this creature. "Okay, big guy. Time to save the others!" The dragon then took off into the air, separating itself from the river and easily flying back up the mountain.

We were back at the top of the mountain in no time. When we got there, the Scath was holding Katigeri ands the True Master in heat binds with one hand and was ready to attack with fire from his other hand.

"Hey, fire boy!" I called out. He turned to face me, and then stared in terror at the sight of my new friend. He was so stunned that he lost control of the heat binds he was using to tie up the True Master and Katigeri dissipated. They too were scared by my creation. "I'm back." I said.

The Scath threw a ball of fire at me in a desperate attempt to beat me. But the dragon just swatted it away in a cloud of steam. He started to step away. "Dragon, attack!" The dragon moved in and slammed itself against the Scath. For a split second you could hear the Scath's horrified screams, but they were soon blocked out by the rush of the water. Steam was coming up from the dragon at the place were the Scath was, probably because of his fire and heat powers. I ordered the dragon to climb higher in the sky in an upward spiral. As it did, I grew faster and faster. I then ordered it to stop. When it stopped, the Scath kept going and was flung out of the dragon. I saw his body disappear as he fell away into the horizon.

Once the Scath had disappeared from view, I rode my giant water dragon back toward the ground and let it go back into the river. I stood there, panting and gasping for breath as Katigeri and the True Master got to there feet.

"That was brilliant, boy!" The True Master cried. "Truly amazing. I do believe that you both are read to train with me."


	16. The Scath's Offer

**The Scath's offer**

With her seeing my Water Dragon, the True Master granted both Katigeri and me the right to train with her. And we both did. We trained for close to two weeks sun up till sun down. I mastered the art of stick fighting, before I had just learned it, now I had mastered it. I also learned to fight much better in hand-to-hand combat. On my own time, when the True Master was concentrating on Katigeri's training, I also perfected my water controlling abilities. I could tell that my dragon hadn't killed the Fire Scath; he would come after me next.

After the two weeks, I packed my stuff and was ready to leave. "You're ready to leave so soon, Slade?" The True Master asked.

"I have to. I have things I have to take care of back at home. And that Fire Scath will be after me, I don't want you to get hurt." I replied.

"I hope to see you again." Katigeri said. "I will tell my son of how brave you were."

"I'll tell you something, Katigeri." I said. "If Katarou is half the fighter you are, he will easily make it up this mountain."

I walked back down the mountain and into the village. People still continued to ignore me, but I didn't care any more. I was back in my Masked warrior outfit with the top left corner of the shirt in bright orange. I hadn't earned my mask yet, but apprentice and warrior don't ware mask. Only masters do.

Finding a boat that went back to America was a whole lot easier. Once again I was hiding in the cargo without the crew even knowing I was there. It was once again a three-week journey.

Toward the end of the trip, I was hiding from the crew (they were getting wise to my being there and were searching for me,) when I felt a strong arm wrap itself around my neck. I struggled to move it but it wouldn't budge. "Don't try to struggle, Slade." Someone said behind me. "There is no reason to." The person held one hand in front of my face and his hand was suddenly engulfed in flames. The Fire Scath. "I won't be using this on you," he said, "just this." The flame disappeared and in his hand was a spray bottle. He sprayed it in my face and I automatically felt dizzy and tired.

"Sleeping gas." I could barely say the words before the world went black and I was out.

I woke up some three hours later and I found myself sitting in the crow's nest on top of the mast. I could move my eyes but my arms were limp as rags. "Why can't I move?" I groaned.

"You've been paralyzed, temporarily. The effects will were off in a few hours." The Scath said. "Don't worry, I don't want to kill you."

"Then why am I here?" I asked.

"To talk." He replied. "You know, we have a lot in common. You could almost say we are kindred spirits. We just chose different sides. I chose the Scath you chose the Masked."

"I'm nothing like you!" I said. My arms were still unable to move, but I could twitch my fingers. "You only want to harm people."

"Why shouldn't I? Why shouldn't you? We are gifted, different, better than them." He walked over and leaned up against the pole. "Come on, think about it. There are five, close to six, billion people in this world. But most of them are meaningless. Their only real purpose is to lift the few superior ones up onto their shoulders. You and me, we're superior. Only difference is you're a hero and I'm a villain. But why should you be a hero to people you never knew and will never know you?"

He squatted down next to me and grabbed my face. I could just move my arm, but I still couldn't do anything to stop him. "What are you doing?"

"Making my point." He held up his other hand and it engulfed itself in flame again. "You know how I got these powers? I was Trigon's chosen servant; it's also why I have the Mark of Scath burned into my forehead. You could have powers like this too. I could so easily squash you like a bug right now, but I'm offering you a choice. Join me. Join the Scath. Together, think of the things we could create." He then let go of me and stood up. "Or we could destroy, if you don't join we will continue to fight in more battles, most of them in Jump City. Our selfish fights will cause the deaths of hundreds, maybe thousands, again and again and again until we're both dead. What will that accomplish?" He walked over to the edge of the crow's nest and looked back at me. "Think about it, Slade." He then jumped off and disappeared.

But I didn't need to think about it. I would never join the Scath. I would never join him, whoever he was. Then something came to me. How did he know my name? I never told it to him. I could tell from his voice and by how tall he was that he was no older than me, only about 16, so how did he know my name?

After a few hours, I regained control of my body and went back into hiding, although it was hardly necessary. Almost as soon as I got control of my body, the ship docked in Jump City. Once it docked, I was off and on my way back to Masked HQ.


	17. Battle Against the Greatest

**Battle Against the Greatest**

I walked through the city and back to the ally way. I came to the door and used the small orange and black disk to open the door. It slid open like it always does. I rode the elevator back to the other level and once I got out, everything stopped. Whatever anyone was doing they stopped where they were and just stared.

"Slade!" Someone called out. It was Shaun. He and Master stepped out from the crowd to greet me. "You're back."

"Yup. I've finally returned." I said.

"The prodigal son returns." A man stepped out of another room. He was taller than my Master and much stronger. I couldn't see his face, he was wareing the mask. It was Master Kinchi. "Welcome back, Slade. Too bad you won't be staying long. You disobeyed direct orders from the Highest Masked council in the world. You are here by expelled!"

"Not yet." I said. "According to the Masked order, a Masked cannot be expelled unless it is proven that he is no longer capable of going into battle. In other words, I have to be beaten in a fight."

"Very wise, Slade." Master Kinchi replied. "But I get to chose your opponent. And I say that you have to dual against me."

The entire room gasped and fell silent in an instant. But I only smiled. "Fine. If I have to, I will defeat you. When is the match to be held?"

"In five minutes, no weapons other than the steel pole, no special ability such as your water controlling ability, and no allies. A one-on-one hand-to-hand fight." Master Kinchi said.

I grinned. "Good."

I practiced really fast in the training room for my upcoming match. I was training against Shaun with the steel pole.

I swung the pole down on him, but this he easily blocked. Then I swung the other end up from below. This he once again blocked. I knocked Shaun on both sides of the face with the top end of the staff in about three seconds, stunning him. I hit him in the side with the end of the staff and he bent to that side. I then hit him in the back of the knees with one swift strike. He fell to his knees and I placed the blunt end of the staff against his neck.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" I asked.

"Not bad at all. Almost perfect." Master said. He had been sitting there watching us. "I am very impressed, Slade. Who taught you how to do that?"

"None other than the True Master." I replied.

"If you three are done, I'd like to get on with getting rid of Slade now." Master Kinchi said, as he stepped into the room.

We went to a special arena, which was designed like a boxing ring. Of coarse there was no soft mat on the bottom, only the regular floor with water and heat pipes running beneath it.

Master Kinchi and I stepped into the ring. Both of us were in our particular rank uniform, him in his master uniform and mask and I in my warrior uniform. "You're going to need a new mask after I'm done with you." I said.

"I hope you've appreciated that warrior uniform, because you won't be wearing it for much longer." He replied.

Every Masked I knew, and about a million I didn't, where here to watch. This was probably the match of the millennium, nothing like this had ever happened, as far as I knew, in the entire history of the Masked.

Master stepped up to the side of the ring and said, "This match will determine if Warrior Slade will still be allowed to stay in the Masked. His opponent is council member, Master Kinchi. Let the match begin!"

A bell rang and I raced at Kinchi. When I got close, I jumped in the air and aimed a powerful kick at his face. Kinchi grabbed my ankle right as I was about to hit him, and he threw me to the ropes. I bounced of the ropes and was propelled back at Kinchi. As I was pushed back, Master Kinchi held out his arm and hit me in the face. That 'clothes line' hit me down to the ground on my back. As I lay there, I could hear the rush of the water under the floor.

"Still so confident you can win?" Kinchi asked. He thrust a fist at my face, a fist that could've easily broken my nose. But I rolled out of the way and his fist slammed into the concrete, creating a small crater in the floor.

I stood up and pulled out my metal fighting stick. I ran at Kinchi again, using the pole like a spear. Kinchi jumped back just as the end of my staff jabbed into the small crater. Master Kinchi stood up and popped his knuckles. "You missed, Slade. Now I see why you're only a Warrior, you never listen."

"Now I see why you're a Master, you really underestimate your opponent." I said with a smile. "I wasn't aiming for you." I pulled the staff out of the hole and steam began to pour out. I knelt down and brushed the ruble away, sitting there was a damaged hot water pipe; steam was spraying out. I grabbed the pipe and broke it all the way off. Steam gushed out like water and filled the room like white smoke. Master Kinchi was looking back and forth for me, but nobody could see anything. "This was my whole plan from the start." I said. "I knew that if I could rupture the water line, then I could fill the room with steam and make it impossible to see."

"I have to admit, I'm impressed. But now you can't see either. And I can attack from sound alone." Master Kinchi said.

"I don't need sight or sound." I said. I closed my eyes and shut out all sound. I concentrated only on the skills I learned from the Cave Guardian. Yes, the steam disappeared. Everything went away. But I could tell exactly where Kinchi was.

I threw the staff like it was a spear. It disappeared in the steam, but I heard it slam against something and I also heard Kinchi's grunt. I jumped into the air and this time hit Kinchi in the face with my steel-toed boot. I swung a fist at his stomach, but he grabbed my fist and bent it backward, cracking it. He delivered a powerful punch to my face and I fell back. When I opened my eyes I saw my fighting pole stuck in the ground right by my head. "You are good, I'll give you that. But not good enough!" Master Kinchi said. I grabbed my stick and wrenched it out of the ground. But before I could use it, Kinchi had grabbed the cuff of my uniform and was holding me in the air. "Say good bye."

I wasn't going to let myself be defeated so easily. As he held me there, I jabbed my knee foreword and hit him hard in the groin. He cried out in pain, dropped me, and doubled over. "Good bye." I said. I held the steel rod over his head and swung it down in a strong down stroke. I hit him in the back of the head and he fell splayed out on the ground. I placed one foot on is back and the end of my staff against his neck. "I win."

The crowed started to applause. Everyone clapped. Especially my Master and Shaun. Master held out his arms and the applauding ceased. "I match is over! Slade is the victor. He will continue to be a Masked Warrior." The crowed cheered when they heard this. My greatest victory ever.


	18. Cycle of the Gem

**Cycle of the Gem**

After I defeated Master Kinchi I was reinstated into the Masked. Once again I could live among them and now I could get a little more respect. Shaun, Master, and I were training again as usual. I now outranked Shaun, but it didn't matter.

"Slade," Shaun asked, "how did you manage to beat Master Kinchi?"

"I'll tell you this," I replied, "Beating him was easier than beating the Fire Scath."

The instant I said those words, everything stopped and fell silent. Everyone was starring at me. "What'd I say?" I asked.

"The Fire Scath?" Master asked.

"Yeah." I replied.

"No Scath has ever had control over fire in over six hundred years." Master said. "I means only one thing, Trigon is ready to chose a new bride and create the next Gem."

"A new Gem, you know this just because I said there was a Scath that could control fire?"

"Slade, the only time a Scath ever has the power to control fire is when Trigon gives them that power to serve him. The Fire Scath is Trigon's chosen warrior. This Scath's job is to find a bride for Trigon and to protect the Gem until it is old enough to create the portal." Master said.

"Of coarse, the danger of this Gem depends on which sign it is born under." Shaun said.

"Which sign?" I asked.

"I'll show you." Shaun and Master led me away from the Training grounds and into the archives. Once in the archives, Master found a sheet of paper with four circles on it. In each of the circles was a picture of some kind of animal. "This is the cycle of the Gem. The first one is the Dragon, second is the Raven, third is the Giant, and fourth is the Fox. This Gem will be born under the sign of the Raven, so it is probably the sixth Gem."

"If this is the Raven, and the Raven is number two, doesn't that mean that this is the second Gem born?" I asked.

"No," Master replied, "we have limited records of the first Raven, Giant and Fox Gems born, but we do know that there have been two Dragons. The first Dragon was the one born 3000 years ago and was the first Gem. The second Dragon was born around the year 1400 A.D. His name was Malchior."

"Wait, I remember something." I said. "Is this the same Malchior in the story of Roreck the Wizard and Malchior the Dragon?"

"Yes." Master said. "The story goes that it was getting close for the Gem, Malchior, to fulfill his destiny and become the Portal. But the Masked were after him. In order not to be killed by the Masked, he found a wizard named Roreck. He pleaded with this wizard to turn him into an animal so that he would never be found by the Masked and so that he wouldn't have to become the portal.

When Malchior asked this of Roreck, the young wizard had to comply. He used a powerful spell to turn Malchior into an animal. But something went wrong and Malchior became the animal sign he was born under. The Dragon. With no one left to stop him, he started on a rampage, destroying everything in his path. The Masked could not stop him; the Scath could not stop him. In the end it was Roreck himself that stopped Malchior by sealing in inside the book in which all this is written."

"So that book we have here has Malchior trapped inside it?" I asked.

"Not ours. Ours is only a copy." Shaun replied. "Only the original has Malchior trapped in it, but no one knows where it is."

"Lets hope no one finds it." Master said. "Even though he's trapped, Malchior can still be released by the power of the next Gem. The Gem that will be conceived soon."

"If Malchior was the last Gem, and he was around in 1400, then the Gem has a six hundred year cycle. Every six hundred years a new one is born, right?" I asked.

"Exactly. And from what you've told us, the next one will appear soon. The Raven Gem." Master said. "This is something Master Kinchi must know about." So my Master left to go to the room of the council, but I followed in the shadows to hear everything.


	19. The Instinct to Kill

**The Instinct to Kill**

My master went to speak with the Masked Council. I hid in the rafters as he spoke to them. "Honorable members of the Masked Council, I bring news of up most importance." He said.

"Speak, Master Shinobi." Master Kinchi replied.

"News has reached my ears that the Fire Scath has appeared once again." My Master, Master Shinobi, said.

"After 600 years? It can't be." Master Lee, the fifth highest of the Masked Council said.

"Can't it?" Master Brandon, third highest of the Masked Council, asked. "It is in accordance with the Gem Cycle."

"Master Shinobi, how did you acquire this knowledge?" Master Joseph, fourth highest on the Masked Council, asked.

"My former apprentice, Slade claims to have met the Scath and fought him." Master Shinobi answered.

"Is Slade a credibly source?" Master Alexander, second highest on the Masked Council, asked.

"Slade is a powerful warrior and a great fighter," Master Kinchi said, "he has no reason to lie. I believe he is telling the truth."

"He has to be lying." Said Master Lee. "Slade is only a warrior and only a three year warrior at that. There is no way a warrior can fight a Scath as powerful as the Fire Scath and live to tell about it. I don't believe that even I could win a fight against a Scath that powerful."

"Slade's power is exceptional," said Master Shinobi, "his power has grown to even surpass mine. If I am correct, his power is greater than any of you on the Masked Council." When my Master said this he got displeasing stares from the council. "This bring me to my other matter,"

"What is it?" Master Kinchi asked.

"I believe Slade should be promoted from the level of warrior to the level of master." Master Shinobi exclaimed.

I gasped. The council did, too. "We cannot make him a master!" Master Lee cried. "He isn't old enough to be a master."

"There have been masters younger than Slade." Master Joseph pointed out.

"But they have all been Masked for more years. We even objected allowing Slade to join the Masked because he was too old. The best time for a child to become a Masked apprentice is around six or seven, Slade was ten. He was the wrong age to become an apprentice and he is the wrong age to become a master." Master Alexander exclaimed.

"What do you say, Master Kinchi?" Master Brandon asked.

I held my breath, not wanting to miss a thing. Master Kinchi laced his fingers together and placed them under his chin. After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, he sighed and replied, "Slade should not be advanced to master, but not for the reasons you propose, Master Lee."

"What do you mean?" Master Shinobi asked.

"It is not that Slade is too young or that he is too inexperienced. In fact, he is probably more powerful that any of us here. The reason he will not be advanced is because he is too soft." Master Kinchi said. I didn't know what that ment but he soon explained. "Right now, Slade has the desire to win. What he doesn't have is the instinct to kill. When he fought me, he was determined to beat me until I couldn't fight back, he wasn't trying to kill me."

"Does this mean Slade will never advance?" Master Shinobi asked.

"If he doesn't develop the instinct to kill his opponet, yes." Master Kinchi replied. "We will look into this Fire Scath problem. You are excused."

Master Shinobi bowed and left. I snuck out and meet him back in the training hall. I put on this act like I hadn't been there and asked, "What was that about?"

"Don't try to fool me, Slade. I Know you were in there watching from up in the rafters." Master Shinobi said. "You're good, Slade. But you're not that good yet."


	20. A New Mission: Do I Know You?

**A New Mission: Do I Know You?**

We are nearing the end of my story. It has been a long run and it is finally drawing to an end. You may find some big surprises in the upcoming chapters and some disturbing facts, just to warn you. But I don't want to keep you waiting so I'll just get into it.

It was time for a new mission. My last mission, if you remember, was to search for the Force's of Nature, Thunder and Lightning. We didn't find them, but neither did the Scath so I guess it all works out. This mission was to be my first solo mission. They told me it was to be one of the most important missions a Masked could do, so at first I was excited. Until I learned what it was.

My mission was to retrieve supplies, namely groceries. My big important mission was to go grocery shopping at the local Safeway. Real fun.

So, I went out to the Safeway, obviously not in my Masked uniform. I was given a list of about 200 items and $500 to buy it with.

I was at the store, grabbing the items on the list and throwing them into the cart. Typical items, like powdered milk, and caned soup, all of it really cheap. I wasn't even really there; my mind was far away from there. As I was walking along, I bumped into a girl about my age also doing her shopping. I knocked the bag of chips and a few cans of bean dip out of her hand held crate.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I said. I started to pick up the chips and dip and was just putting them back into her crate. Then I saw her face. "Arella?"

"Who wants to know?" She asked.

"Arella, it's me. Slade." I said.

"Slade? Really?" She said, then "It is you! I haven't seen you in almost six years."

Arella was a friend of mine when I was in school. We were in the same class from kindergarten through 5th grade. My other friend, Marth from the beginning of this story, was also with us through out our entire school time until I became a Masked.

"It's so great to see you. You're a junior now, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, but where have you been? You just kind of disappeared way back. And then your mom..."

"Don't remind me." I said. I still didn't like to remember. "I've been off, doing my own thing. I just felt that school wasn't for me. Remember our old karate class? I've been working on that." I just had to come up with a reasonable excuse. It seemed to work.

"You done here?" She asked.

"Yeah, just leaving." Then a thought came to me. "Hey, can I take you out tonight? I'm buying."

"No thanks, Slade." Arella replied. "But, prom's coming up and I still don't have a date, do you want to come with me?"

I was paralyzed. I didn't know what to say, so I said the first thing that came to mind. "Yes."

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure. It'll be a good chance to get back in touch. What night should I come to pick you up? You still live in the same house, right?" I asked.

"Yes, I do. And Tuesday of next week at 9:00. You can do that, right?"

"Of coarse I can. You can count on it." This single conversation would led to the end of all these events, as you will see.


	21. Prom Night

**Prom Night**

Tuesday night rolled around. This was the big prom night for Arella's school. So, I rented a tuxedo and decided to get Arella a little something. I got her a gold locket with her name engraved on one side, and my name engraved on the other. I used up a lot of the money to get these and I only got about 96 of the items on the list. That night at about 8:30, I was just finishing the bow tie (I had never put on any type of tie before then) when I saw Shaun's reflection in the mirror.

"Going somewhere?" He asked.

"If you must know, yes. I'm going to a dance." I replied.

"You? Dance?" Shaun fell over laughing. He was soon gasping for air and lying on the ground. He, eventually, was able to stand up and he whipped a tear from his eye. "I'm sorry, but that is just too funny. Now seriously, where are you going?"

"I just told you, and I'm not lying. I'm going to a junior prom." I said again.

He stood silent for a second and then, "Oh, you're insane. You almost got kicked out of the Masked order before. If you try it again, you'll be expelled without question."

"That's only if they find out." I replied.

"Last time they did find out." Shaun protested.

"Last time, I was gone for two months. I'm only going to be away for about three hours. No one will notice." I said.

"If you say so." Shaun said.

"By the way, I need to borrow the keys to your bike."

"What?" Shaun exclaimed.

"Well, my bike is totaled. I need yours."

Shaun glared at me for a minute then said, "Fine. Here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his bike keys.

"Thanks." I said, snatching the keys from his hand. I strolled down to the garage and found his bike. In about three seconds I was gone.

I rode down the street, the wind whipping my black hair. Most of the people I past just starred at me. It's not everyday you see a 16 year old driving down the street in a tuxedo on a dirt bike. I got to Arella's house and knocked on her door. She answered, wearing a light-blue gown. "Hi, Arella. Nice dress."

"Thank you. Come on, we're going to be late." She said. "Is that what you're driving?" She asked, pointing to the dirt bike.

"It'll get us there on time." I led her down to the bike we got on, she wrapped her arms around my waist. "Where is this place?" I asked.

"It's being held on a ferry in the bay. If you don't hurry we'll miss the boat." She replied.

I handed her a helmet and I put mine on. "Don't worry." I said. I opened the throttle and the bike speed away into the night.

We raced down the streets. Down one street and up another. As we approached the docks, I checked my watch. 9:05, the boat was pulling out of the harbor and into the bay. "Oh, we're too late." Arella said.

I saw at the end of the dock were two big wooden creates and a slab of plywood laying on them like a ramp. I grinned. "Hold on tight!" I exclaimed, and gunned it. The back tire spun and we zoomed off toward the plywood ramp.

"Your crazy!" Arella yelled.

"Just don't let go!" I cried. The bike speed down the dock at 79 mph. We hit the ramp and went soaring into the air, we sailed in the air closing the distance between the boat and us in seconds.

Everyone on the boat saw us and moved as fast as they could. They probably thought we were crazy. We started to fall closer to the deck. Then we slammed into the deck and skid to a stop. I kicked out the kickstand and rested the bike against the rail.

Everyone was stunned and amazed that we had made a jump like that. Arella was a little shaken but she soon got over it. I saw a familiar face walk out of the crowd. "Hey, Slade. Long time, no see." It was Marth.

"Hey, Marth. What's shaken'?" I said.

"How did you do that?" He asked. "That jump, I mean."

"You just hit the ramp at the right speed and then hope you have a good landing spot." I said.

A slow dance then started playing. "Come on, Slade." Arella said. "Let's dance." So she led me out to the dance floor and rested her arms over my shoulders.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the little gold heart locket. "I wanted to get you something." I said.

"Oh, Slade. It's beautiful." She said. She took it in her hand, and rested her head against my chest. "This is the best prom ever."

"Hey, love birds." Marth said, holding a Polaroid camera. "Let me get a picture." We posed for the camera and the flash went off. The picture came out and Marth started shaking it. "Let's see, how'd this turn out?" he held up the picture to us.

"It looks perfect." I said.

"I think I'll put it in my locket." Arella smiled. She then kissed me on the cheek and Marth snapped another picture.

"Marth." I said.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." He replied.


	22. The Scath Hiding Place

**The Scath Hiding Place**

After I took Arella home after the prom, I went back to Masked HQ. Most everyone was asleep when I got back, so no one could see me click my heels as I walked down the halls. Of coarse, there was still one person awake. Shaun. He clicked on a small light at the end of the hall. "Did you have fun?" He asked.

"Cha, you wouldn't believe. I never thought dancing could be so fun." I replied.

"So, it was good to see your old friends again?" He asked.

"Yes."

"That's in direct violation of Masked code. You were told very early on that you would have to leave everything from your past behind." Shaun said.

"So sue me. I had to see her again." I replied, with a tone sharper than I had hoped for.

"You like her, don't you?" He said, with a sly smile on his face.

"Duh, she's one of my best friends."

"Sure." He said. "But I mean, you _like _her, like her. As more than a friend."

"Well, uh…."

"Don't hide it, Slade. You're horrible at trying to hide it." He then just walked off into the dark.

The next day was my day off. My day to rest. Wednesday. But I did have plans for that day. At 3:00 I took Shaun's bike (I still had his keys) and rode off to Arella's school. I was wearing a pull over black shirt and blue jeans over my warrior uniform. I saw Arella just as she was leaving. "Arella!" I called out.

She looked up. "Hi, Slade!"

"Who's that punk?" The guy standing next to her asked. He was a big guy with a lettermen's jacket that said, "Josh" on the back. Before Arella could answer, he shoved her to the ground. "Is he some old boyfriend?"

"Josh, he's just…." Arella tried but he just pushed her back down.

"What are you doing!" I growled as I rode up next to them.

He grabbed my collar and lifted me off my bike. "You trying to steal my girl?"

"Josh…" Arella said, but Josh just slapped her across the face.

"Shut up. You'll talk when I tell you to." He said.

This only made me angry. I grabbed his wrist and started to squeeze. First his bones popped, then they started to crunch. He first looked at me in surprise, and then he dropped me. I let go of his wrist and he pulled his arm back. "You have no right to do that to her." I said.

"What are you going to do about it, whip?" He asked, still trying to keep up the bad boy image.

"I just about broke your wrist. Do you want to see what else I can do?" I asked.

"You're going to wish you hadn't said that." He glared. "Behind the school, five minutes. If you're not chicken." He stalked off with about five other guys in lettermen's jackets.

Arella got to her feet and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Slade, don't do it." She pleaded.

"I'm not going to let him treat you like that. I'm putting an end to it." I said. "Don't worry, I would get beat and I'll try not to demolish him."

I walked to behind the school and found Josh along with what looked like half the football team. "Look who showed up." Josh joked. "He must be begging to get his butt kicked."

"You're the one who's getting their butt kicked." I said. I held up one hand and popped my knuckles.

"Oooooh, tough guy. Let's see how tough he is after this!" He ran at he and swung his fist at my face. I didn't budge. As his fist came close, I grabbed it and bent it backwards. His wrist snapped in my hand. I gave a powerful punch to his face and he fell back unconscious.

"Not so tough now, are you?" I said.

"Hey, no one does that to Josh! You're going to die!" One of the other guys's yelled and they all charged at me. As the first one came close, I grabbed on to his shoulders and jumped over the top of his head. As I sailed through the air, I kicked out with both legs and hit two guys in the face. They were out like a light.

I landed on my hands and kicked my legs back so as to hit the first guy in the back of the head. He fell too. This left three guys standing. I stood up, tilted my head to one side and popped it. "You have to do better than that. I haven't even broken a sweat." The last three guys decided that it would be better just to leave while they still could, a wise choice. They were gone in second flat.

I walked back and found Arella still standing by the bike. She was a little surprised that I wasn't injured in the least. "How are you unhurt?" She asked.

"It was too easy. Those guys didn't present a challenge in the least. I told you I had been expanding on my karate." I said. "Who was he anyway?"

"My jerk of a boyfriend." She replied. "I wanted to break up with him, but…"

"But you were afraid that he wouldn't go with it and that he would beat you." I finished for her. She nodded. "Don't worry, if he knows what's good for him, he'll leave you alone."

"Thanks." She said. "Hey, I'm going to the library now, what to come too?"

"Sure, are you just going there to study or what?" I asked.

"No. I heard of a club that holds its meeting in the library. I want to check it out for the school paper." She said.

"Okay." I said. We got onto the bike and drove off to the library. We got there and stepped inside. It was eerily quiet in there, but it could afford to be it's a library.

Standing at the far corner, away from everyone else, was a person in a black robe. Arella walked over to him, I followed. "You are Arella, right?" He asked.

"Yes." She said.

He nodded. He held his hand to the wall and the Mark of Scath suddenly appeared on the wall and a section fell away. "Follow me." He said. We followed him into a dark room with statues of skeletons in robes along the walls. And another door with the Mark of Scath engraved on it.

I knew exactly what this was. It was the Scath's secret hide away. The place that they have been hiding in for years. There was a cold feeling in that place, as if you could actually feel the evil radiating off the very walls around you. Needless to say, I didn't like this place.

The Scath in front of us opened the other door and revealed a winding staircase. "This staircase leads to the room. Follow me." He said.

He started to lead us down the stairs. On the way down, I tapped Arella on the shoulder and put my mouth next to her ear. "Arella," I whispered, "be careful. This place is dangerous."

"What do you mean?" She whispered back.

"This is the hiding place of the Scath, a very dangerous cult. We should probably leave now." I warned.

But we couldn't leave. Some unseen force was stopping us from turning around and walking out. We could only walk forward. We came to another door with the Mark of Scath on it. The person leading us pushed this door open and then we came to four archways. I looked at the symbols above them and saw that only one had the Mark of Scath on it. This was the arch we went through.

After going through this arch, we came to four others. Above these ones were four different symbols. The one on the far left had the symbol of a dragon. The second to the left had a raven. The one in the center right had an ugly human face, a giant. And the one to the far right had the symbol of a fox.

The person leading us walked down the tunnel with the raven symbol. The four symbols were of the cycle of the gem. He must have walked down this tunnel because the raven was the next gem to be born.

After walking not very far down this tunnel we found a circular room with statues of people in Scath robes all around, an opening in the ceiling, and a giant arm and hand in the center. Sitting and standing all around this stone arm were hundreds, maybe thousands, of people in black hooded robes. Scath. "Go. We must sit and wait with the others." The Scath leading us said. "It wouldn't be long before he speaks to us."

_Who is 'he'? _I thought. We sat and waited in the crowd. Almost right after we sat down, a pillar of light fell in from the ceiling and a Scath stepped up onto the palm of the hand. He raised his arms in the air and his hands suddenly erupted in fire. The entire number of people there all cheered and chanted "Hail Trigon" when he did. _Oh, so that's who they're waiting for. The Fire Scath._

The Fire Scath rested his arms at his side and the flames went out. The crowd stopped chanting. He then raised one hand and shouted, "Fellow Scath! I know that most of you fear that the end of us is near! You are correct. The end is near at hand! Soon, Trigon will rise from the terrible prison that contains him and he shall rule this world! Many of you doubt this, but I say look at the past. For 3,000 years the Masked have fought us. For 3,000 years they have tried to conquer us. But in those 3,000 years they have not found our alter! We are still here! We will outlast them!"

The crowd cheered and hollered when he said that.

"And now the most important thing yet." The Fire Scath said. "It has come time for me to chose the next Bride of Trigon. I have excellent news. The next Bride of Trigon is here among us, in this very room!" He held out his hand and a red glowing bind grew out of his fingers and swung over the multitude.

The whip end started to descent toward us. It came in close and wrapped itself around Arella's waist. It started to lift her up; there was a look of terror on her face.

_NO!_ I thought. "No!" I cried, I reached into my belt and pulled out a two-sided blade. The blade popped out and I slashed through the heat bind. Arella fell back to the ground harmlessly. This act attracted the attention of everyone in that room. All eyes were tuned on me. "If you want her, you'll have to go through me." I said. I grabbed the cuff of my shirt and ripped it off along with my jeans to reveal my Masked warrior uniform.

The room gasped when I did this. But the Fire Scath just laughed. "Who would've thought?" He said. "I expected I'd see you here eventually, but this is sooner than I expected. Have you taken me up on my offer?"

"Sorry, Scath. I would never be one of you." I replied.

"Very well." He said, and then he turned to the other Scath. "Ladies and gentle men, that girl is the Bride of Trigon. But she has a friend. May I present to you Masked Warrior Slade!"

All the Scath rose to their feet and started to attack! The first one tried to tackle me. I just grabbed their arms and threw them aside. Another one threw a ninja-throwing star at me. I pulled my steel rod out of my belt and knocked it away.

The entire room of Scath was now racing toward us. I grabbed Arella's hand and we ran for the door. "I think we've over stayed our welcome." I cried.

We raced out the room, up the stairs and back into the library with the Scath right on our tails. We jumped back on the dirt bike and left the Scath in the dust.


	23. A New Plan

**A New Plan**

We raced away from the library. Taking this road and that road, making sure that if anyone was following us we would lead him or her on a goose chase across town. In the end, we did eventually make it back to the old abandon building in the ally. I placed the orange and black disk into the slot on the door and it opened.

"What is this place?" Arella asked.

"It's the main base and hideout for the Masked. You should be safe here." I replied.

"Safe from what?"

"Those Scath, the people that want you. Here you'll be safe until I can find a way to get rid of them." I said. We took the elevator back to the training hall and found most of the Masked there.

"Slade, who is this and why is she here!" Master Shinobi asked sternly.

"This," I replied, "is Arella, my good friend. And she's here because the Scath want to make her the next Bride of Trigon."

"The next WHAT?" Shaun cried.

"What are you talking about?" Arella asked.

"Those weird people in black robes, they believe that the evil inter-dimensional demon named Trigon wants to take over this world. In order to do that they must send him a bride with whom he can do what he wants with. With a bride he can conceive a person called the Gem and send the Gem back to earth. When the Gem comes of age, they will open a portal to Trigon's dimension and allow him to rule this planet and possibly this universe." I explained.

She looked at me, and then looked around the room and back to me. "You're all crazy." She said, and turned back toward the elevator.

"Arella wait…" I said, placing my hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me, Slade. I don't want anything to do with you or any of these sick cults or gang rivals or what ever they are." She said, shoving my hand off.

"Maybe you don't, but they do." I said. "If you go back out there, they will be looking for you. Always looking for you. You can't escape them. They believe in this so much that they will hunt you down, every waking moment they will be after you. And I might not be there next time to stop them. Do you really want to be captured by them?"

She stopped in her tracks. Waited for a second, quiet. Then turned back. "Can you stop them?" She asked.

I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. "I don't know." I said. "I have to talk with the Masked council, they won't be happy, and maybe we can come up with a plan." I turned to Master Shinobi and Shaun. "Can you keep her safe?"

"Yes. Nothing gets past us." Shaun replied.

"Good, because she's very important to me. I'm going to speak with Master Kinchi and the Masked council." I said. I then stepped into the elevator and went up to the Masked council room.

"So, this girl that you have known for years is the mother of the Gem." Master Kinchi said.

"Future mother." I corrected. "We need to make sure that that future doesn't come to pass."

"And you claim that you have been to their secret worshiping place." Master Alexander said.

"Yes." I replied.

"Then what is the problem?" Master Joseph asked.

"The problem is that there are now thousands of Scath in this one room and we can't simply storm in and take over. Their numbers are too great. They will easily over come that type of attack. Plus, the Fire Scath is still there." I said.

"Thousands of Scath?" Master Lee asked.

"Yes, thousands." I said.

"We don't have nearly enough experienced Masked to fight that kind of fight. Most of the masked now are still apprentice ranked." Master Brandon said.

"What about those Masked robots?" I asked. Masked robots are machines that look mostly like Masters except for the face, which has an orange circle inside the black mask and they are programmed with about the experience of a fifth year apprentice.

"Production of the Masked robot prototype is still incomplete. Besides, they aren't strong enough to take on thousands of Scath. We'll get no help from the robots." Master Alexander said.

"Don't worry, Slade. We've gained a tactical advantage now that we know where their hideout is. Because of that, we will not expel you for disobeying orders." Master Kinchi said. "You are dismissed."

I went back to my room and threw myself on the bed. _Now what?_ I thought. _What are we suppose to do now? _Arella came into my room and sat on the end of my bed. "Hey, Arella." I said.

"Hey, Slade." She replied. I groaned and dragged my hands across my face. "What is it?"

"I don't know what to do." I said. "We now know the location of our enemy strong hold, but they're too strong for us to take over. And then with you, we can't simply let you go home because likely before you get five blocks away they will have captured you. And I'm not liking the idea of keeping a Masked body guard following you everywhere you go."

"So you want to capture me instead." She said, flatly.

"We just want to keep you safe." I said, sitting up. "And keep you out of their hands."

"So you believe all the insane things that those whacko's do, don't you?" She asked.

"I've seen some of these insane things. I've encountered the Fire Scath before; he got his powers from Trigon himself. His job is to find a bride for his demon master, someone who can carry Trigon's child." I replied. "I'm not going to let that girl be you, Arella."

"What do you mean?"

"How do you think you become the carrier of a demons child?" Her face turned from speculation to horror. She knew the answer was sex, but not just sex. Rape. A fate worse than death for whoever is chosen to be Trigon's bride. "That's why we need to keep you out of their hands, because even if you don't believe in any of the things they do, you know what they'll do to you."

"How do you plan to stop them?" She asked.

"I don't know. The only thing we can do is to destroy all of them but we don't have half the power to do so! Rrah!" I slammed my fist on the table by my bed and the wood cracked and splintered leaving a creator in the wood. Resting on that table were the jars filled with magic powders, the scrolls, and other items given to me by the Old One. They shook and rattled when I punched the table. "Wait a minute." I said. I grabbed one of the scrolls and unrolled it.

"What are those?" Arella asked.

"These are ancient spells and magics that the Old One gave to me." I replied. Written on this scroll were a list of special symbols on the left side and on the right was an Asian brush painting of a humanoid creature glowing orange with fire. The Flame Monster. "Perfect." I whispered. Then I yelled, "Perfect!" I put my arm around Arella's waist, pulled her close and kissed her fight on the lips. I raced out the door, the scroll in my hand, leaving Arella more than a little stunned.

I ran back up to the Masked council room and confronted with Master Kinchi. "Sir," I gasped, "I know how to destroy the Scath once and for all."

"How?" He asked.

I unrolled the scroll and laid it out before him. "This is how. The Flame Monster has more than enough power to destroy them all. And I know how to create it."

He looked skeptical at the scroll. "Can you control it?" He asked. "This thing is very powerful, if you can't control it and if it goes on a rampage can it be stopped?"

"I was taught how to destroy it before I knew how to create it." I said. "I'll use my water controlling abilities, more specifically the Water Dragon, to destroy this thing before it can cause any damage to civilians. In fact, I can use the Flame Monster and the Water Dragon at the same time to crush them."

"And what of the Fire Scath?" Master Kinchi asked.

"I'll deal with him personally."

"Well, it look's like you have it all planned out. We can put this plan into action ASAP."


	24. Attack on the Scath

**Attack on the Scath**

"So, this is the plan," I said. I had an overly of the blueprints for the town library lain out on a table with Shaun, Master Shinobi, Arella, and the Masked council standing around looking on. "Down here is the winding stair case. That is where I'm going to set up the preparation for the Flame Monster. To make it work, I need for the sky to be visible."

"How're you going to make that work?" Shaun asked.

"With you're help. Shaun, here is a tracking device." I said, handing him a small palm pilot. "It will tell you exactly were I am. You will be up behind the library and stand right above me, since I'll be underground. When you're right above me, Place the exploding device on the ground and stand back."

"What about us?" Arella asked, indicating herself and Master Shinobi.

"You will go into the bathrooms and use the rags and toilet paper to clog all the johns and sinks. Then flood the bathrooms. For the Water Dragon technique to work, I'm going to need a ton of water." I said.

"Then what?" Master Lee asked.

"Then I'm going to lead a direct attack on the Scath using both the Flame Monster and the Water Dragon." I explained. "Master Kinchi, Alexander, Brandon, Joseph, Lee. You will be the back up. If any Scath escape, it will be your job to take care of them."

"It's perfectly worked out. Slade, your engineering skills have grown considerably." Master Shinobi congratulated.

"I am not so sure that this plan will work." Master Lee said.

"It's our best plan so far." Master Kinchi said. "If everything is in place, the lets put this plan into play."

Two hours later… 

"I've got the stands in place. Shaun, are you at the target?" I asked through an ear microphone.

"I'm here, Slade. I've got you on the locater." He replied, his voice sliced and diced by static.

"Good." I said.

"How are you going to make a monster from fire?" He asked.

"First I set up the targets, then I light them all on fire, and lastly I throw the power disk into the sky and it gathers energy from nature. That energy brings the flame to life." I explained.

"How do you intend to light them on fire?"

"The last time I saw, the Old One threw fire from his fingers." I answered. "Hey!" I cried. "Could the Old One be the Fire Scath?"

"No. You said the Fire Scath was no older than you. So the Old One can't be him." Shaun replied.

"Good point." I said. "Well, they're going to be lit in about three seconds." I pulled three exploding disks out of my belt and threw them at the stick and leaf targets. Each disk hit three targets and the instant they hit, the targets were ablaze with fire. "Set the explosion." I turned a dial on the headset and switched the frequency. "Arella, Master Shinobi, is all going well?" I asked.

"I just got the water spilling over the top of the sink." Arella answered.

"I'm up to my ankles in water." Shinobi said.

"Excellent." I said. Just then, the ceiling of the staircase exploded and small chunks of rock and derbies fell away. A pillar of sunlight fell through the small hole in the ceiling. I pulled one of the energy disks I got from the Old One, then ones with the Chinese word for fire on it, from my belt and hurtled it up for the opening. It zipped through the opening and a few seconds later, a beam of red light came back through and connected with the flaming targets, connecting them together. A flash of blinding light filled the room and once it faded a humanoid creature with very long arms and a Jack-o-lantern face made of orange and black flames stood in its place.

"Slade, we're getting pretty flooded up here." Arella's voice came over the mike.

"Got it." I said back. I ran back up to the door way between the Scath room and the library. I saw the water was spilling into the main room. A frantic librarian ran from behind the desk and confronted Arella and Master Shinobi, both of who were no longer in the bathrooms.

"What is going on here?" The librarian cried franticly.

"Nothing." I said. "I'll take care of this water." I placed my hands together and started with the hand signs. "Uni, ita, erea, hiuy, tekia, ovak, sinture, lomdet, forteat, intu, queju, Torie." I said, as I made the last hand sign. "Water Style, Water Dragon!"

The big puddle of water started to bubble and grow. If formed into a swirling typhoon of water. From the sides sprouted two thin arms ending in five claws. The top of the typhoon became square and box-like, opening into a mouth full of teeth. A set of yellow eyes opened from its head and the dragon looked down at its surroundings.

The dragon lowered its head to the ground and I stepped up onto the creature's head. "Let's go, dragon." I commanded. The Water Dragon flew through the passageway and back into the spiral staircase where the Flame Monster was waiting. "Down." I said, and the dragon flew down the stairs with the Flame Monster close behind, swinging from its arms like a monkey.

We came to the same door with the Mark of Scath carved in it. I jumped up off the dragon's head and slammed my foot into the door; it came down with a thud. I ran, sprinting through the doorway and following the path laid before me. Both the Flame Monster and Water Dragon followed after me. I came to the four archways, and chose the one with the Mark of Scath above it.

Racing down this corridor we came to the second set of four archways, the ones that told the Cycle of the Gem. I looked at the symbol above each and saw first the dragon, then the raven, and the giant, and the fox. Since the next Gem in the cycle was the raven, I ran down this corridor with the fire and water behind me.

It didn't take long before I found the main meeting room. The high ceiling with the circular hole in the top, beaming a pillar of light right down into the palm of the statue of Trigon's arm. Along the walls were the statues of people in the black robes. On the floor all around Trigon's arm sat the Scath themselves, and standing in Trigon's palm was the Fire Scath himself.

I held up a hand to the Flame Monster and the Water Dragon, signaling them to stop. I pulled the steel rod from my belt and stepped out of the corridor into the main room. "Fire Scath!"

He looked down at me from his high point and laughed. "Slade. Why did you come back? You already said you didn't want my offer. You must be ready to die."

"I'm here to defeat you all." I said.

"You? Alone? Even you are not _that_ good. Where are all your Masked friends?"

"Not here. It's just you and me."

"If you wish." He said. "Scath, attack!"

All of the Scath rose to their feet, holding up scythes, ninja swords, throwing-stars, knifes, and all sorts of hand-to-hand weapons. They raced for me, a flood of death wanting only to destroy all in their path. I held up my own weapon, a steel rod, and charged at the oncoming army.

Even as I ran, I signaled for my creatures to come out of hiding. The great Flame Monster came first, flying out of the corridor in a flash of fire and descending on the oncoming Scath. Its jack-o-lantern face smiled and it swept its arms into the multitude, throwing a dozen Scath with each arm swing.

Second, the Water Dragon came out into the battle; flying through the air like a serpent. It dove down into the Scath, pushing through them and throwing them aside. The dragon slammed its tail back and forth; knocking Scath through the air. It even took a few in its mouth.

The army of Scath wasn't so sure about winning any more. Some threw their weapons at the creatures, some tried to run for dear life, and a few just stood motionless. No matter what they tried the outcome was still the same, either burned to death by the fire or drowned in the water.

I ran through the battlefield, dodging the attacks Scath still brought on me. I got to the base of Trigon's arm and, with a little help from the dragon's flicking tail, leapt up to the palm and confronted the Fire Scath.

"Bravo, Slade. I must admit, I had expected the dragon. Not the fire thing." The Fire Scath said.

"Shut up and die!" I cried. I swung the rod in a great arch at his head; he grabbed it in his hand and the metal melted off.

"Have you learned nothing yet? Your pathetic weapons can't touch me." He punched me in the face with his flaming fist. I staggered back and fell to the ground.

As my head hit the palm of the arm statue, I heard the rush of water through the pipes. Of coarse, Arella and Master Shinobi hadn't turned off the water. It was still flowing, but it was too far for me to use the water out of the faucet. Maybe I wouldn't have to. That water comes from pipes running under the ground, and one of those pipes was very close.

Laying on the edge of Trigon's statue, I reached my arm over the edge and strained for the ground. I heard a groaning and creaking under the stone and a broken pipe snapped through the floor; water spraying out of the end. I concentrated on the rushing water, straining with my hand, and molding it into a steady stream. With a swift jerk, I pulled my arm around and hit the Fire Scath directly in the face. He fell back, drenched in water.

"I got it now." I said. "You use fire to fight. So I'll just use water." I grabbed the water as it came by and, like a whip, swung it at him. He held up his hand as the water whip came at him and a ball of fire flew from his hand, evaporating the flames.

I charged, and just as the steam cleared I delivered a powerful blow to his face. "Rough move, Slade." He glared.

"Who are you!" I yelled.

"You know who I am."

"The Old One?"

"Pathetic. I'm no older than you are, Slade. How can I be some old guy I don't even know?" He asked. "No answer? Oh, well. You'll figure it out soon enough." His right hand was ablaze with fire. He jumped to his feet and swung his flaming fist at me.

I caught his wrist in my hand before it could touch me. Then I saw in his left hand he was holding a large pocketknife. He thrust the knife for my heart, I caught his wrist but I couldn't stop the knife. I did, however, change its direction. As I caught the knife, he pushed upward and the sharp blade first cut the flesh at my cheekbone, then continued up and slashed into my right eye.

"Aaaahhh!" I yelled. I shoved him away and clutched at my eye. Blood oozed from the wound and seeped between my fingers. I opened my left eye and saw that he was gone.

I scanned the area with my good eye and saw that the only moving things in the room where me, and my two creatures. I reached with my left hand for the Water Dragon (my right hand was still held to my eye,) and the dragon charged for the Flame Monster. The two giants clashed together and destroyed each other in a flash of steam.

I staggered back up from the Scath room up to the main library room. Arella, Master Shinobi, and Shaun were all waiting for me. "Slade!" Arella cried. She ran to my side and gasped. "He's hurt!"

"We have to get him back to HQ. Hurry!" Master Shinobi said.


	25. Graduation

**Graduation **

I sat in the hospital bed, a bandage of gauss wrapped around my head covering my right eye. Arella and Shaun were there with me. I placed my hand to my eye. _If this were a bandana I'd look like a pirate right now._ I thought. "What's the damages?" I asked. The doctor looked up from the clipboard.

"Good news and bad news, Slade." He said.

"Good news first." I replied.

"Well, the injuries aren't fatal so you're not going to die from them."

"Bad news?"

"The knife cut too deep. It didn't just scrape across the surface; it split the eye and severed the optic nerve. You'll never be able to see out that eye again." He placed the clipboard down on the side table and walked out.

I pulled my hand away from my eye and looked over toward Shaun and Arella. "It was a small price to pay." I said.

"What do you mean?" Arella asked.

"Well I defeated the Scath, brought an end to this 3,000 year conflict, and kept you from out of their grasp. In exchange for all that I lost one eye. I'd say that's a pretty good deal." I said.

"So, it's really all over?" Shaun asked.

"Actually, not quite." I said. "One Scath escaped, the Fire Scath. He's still out there."

"Oh, the one that happened to get away was the only one that would present a threat to us." Shaun sighed.

"It doesn't matter. He can't get to us now that he's the only one left. Come on, let's get out of here." I said, climbing out of the bed.

"Wait, you can't leave. The doctor ordered for you to stay in bed for another three days. Those stitches won't be ready to come out for another week." Arella protested.

"I can still walk, I have one good eye left. I don't need to stay here for any more time. Let's go." I said. And with that, we left the hospital to go back to the Masked HQ.

For the next few days I recovered. Using two powerful spells in succession of each other is a draining task and uses up a lot of energy, so I had to rest and rejuvenate. After a few days I was back to my normal strength, except for only having one eye. I had taken the bandage off and had just put on an eye patch. _Now I really look like a pirate. _I thought, when Shaun came to me.

"Slade, Master Shinobi wants to speak with you." Shaun said.

"Okay." I replied. I walked out of my quarters and found Master Shinobi in the hallway waiting for me. "You wanted to see me, Master?"

"Yes. Walk with me." He said. He turned and started down the hall, I caught up to him quickly and walked along side him.

_Strange, _I thought, _I'm almost as tall as him. I didn't know I've grown that much._

"I'm getting a new apprentice, you know." Master said.

"Really?"

He nodded. "His name is Jake. He's seven years old so he'll be much like a little brother to you and Shaun."

"Is he leaving his family too?" I asked.

"No, he's an orphan. His parent abandoned him when he was born. He was put up for adoption but no one took him." Master Shinobi said.

"Sad. But he gets a new family now." I said.

"Slade, you know you may have been the best apprentice I ever had. Shaun was the first apprentice I trained and I trained him since he was six."

"But Shaun is a great fighter. I know he is."

"He is an excellent warrior, but you have advanced faster and accomplished more in your six years as a Masked then any other Masked in the history of the order since Azar himself." Shinobi said.

"It was under your supervision and training that I did, Master."

He stopped and stood by a door. "That's just the point, Slade. The time has come for you to stop being my student, and for you to be my equal." He pushed the door open and inside stood five Masked masters, the five council members. Along with them were Shaun and Arella, standing by the walls.

As I walked inside, four of the masters knelt to the ground so that only the one in the center still stood. Master Kinchi. One hand was behind his back and his other hand clutched the handle of a sword. "Kneel, Warrior Slade." He ordered. I did as I was told and he lifted up the sword. "This sword is very old. It is used for only one thing, promotion. Warrior Slade, you have advanced fast. As an apprentice you took down your first Scath, for that you were advanced to the level of warrior. As a warrior you have learned sorcery from the Old One (a feat no Masked has done since the time of Azar), trained with the True Master, discovered the hiding place of the Scath, and have brought the Scath virtually into extinction." He lifted the sword and placed it on my shoulder. "The council has decided that you are worthy of the title master." He pulled his hand out from behind his back and he held out a new suit and a mask. The mask was half black and half orange with four vertical cuts where the mouth should be and a single eye hold on the orange half. "Change into the master uniform and the promotion will be complete."

I took the uniform in my hands and went to a separate room. Inside, I removed the warrior outfit and replaced it with the master uniform. Lastly, I put the back part of the mask on first. And slowly, I clicked the front half of the mask over my face. A new rush filled my body from head to toe. An adrenalin rush. I was no longer a warrior rank; I was now a powerful master.

I stepped out of the other room and back to where the Masked council was waiting. "Welcome, Master Slade."


	26. A Night With Arella

**A Night With Arella**

Later that night, I climbed up to the top of the brick building that the Masked HQ was held in. On the top, I found Arella sitting looking at the stars. There weren't a lot of stars out; the lights of the city prevented that. I walked over to her and sat down next to her. I placed my arm around her shoulder (with none of that stupid yawning trick). "It's a little cold out tonight." I said.

"It's always cold at night in a city by the bay." She replied. "A master now. That mask makes you look mysterious. It's kind of scary."

"I think it's designed like that. But with only one eye hole this one is probably scarier than the normal ones."

She smiled and leaned her head on my shoulder. "It looks nice."

This was all unexpected to me, not like I minded. "Hey, I know the perfect place we can see the stars." I said.

"Where?"

I pointed out into the bay. "See that island? That island is far enough away from the lights of the city that the stars are bright and beautiful."

"Can we go there?" She asked.

"Sure. We'll go now."

We went back down stairs to the bike garage. I took Shaun's bike because mine had been blown up a while ago. Before we left, I took a blanket from my room because it gets cold out on the bay. We took the bike and rode down to the wharf. Once there, we found a small rowboat with a small engine on the stern. We "borrowed" this boat and drove it out to the island. Once there, I laid out the blanket on the ground and we both lay on our backs and looked at the stars.

"The stars are a lot brighter out here. There're, like, thousands of them up there." Arella said. "What's that really bright one?" She asked.

"That one?" I asked. "That is Series, the dog star. It's the brightest known star in the universe." I took of my mask and set it aside.

"It's beautiful out here." She said.

She reached her arm across my chest and pulled herself close to me. I turned my head to look at her and she kissed me right on the lips. Not just a little kiss; her tongue slipped between my lips and tangled with mine. At first I was really surprised, then I just let the feeling take over me.

I will not tell you exactly what happened between us that night, all I will tell you is that once we were done, Arella wasn't a virgin anymore. I did not fall asleep right after, although Arella did. I lay there with Arella asleep at my side, the blanket pulled over us and our clothes scattered around the small beach. I smiled and turned back to look at the city. Most of the lights were off now and the city seemed dark and empty.

From the top of one of the skyscrapers a blast of fire shot into the sky. Once it reached a certain point, it altered to look like the Mark of Scath. A terrible laughing echoed from the city as the flames dissipated. The Fire Scath was still out there.


	27. The Scath's Return

**The Scath's Return**

"The flame signal that was seen last night confirms our suspicions," Master Kinchi was saying to the gathering. After our fun, we returned to the Masked HQ and told the council about the Scath signal in the sky. They had seen it too. Today, they were holding a grand meeting of the entire Masked order in the main hall. "The Fire Scath has returned!" Master Kinchi said.

"The Fire Scath is a deadly warrior." Master Shinobi said. "This next mission will be the most important mission ever carried out by a Masked. The Masked called upon by the council to serve this mission is Master Slade."

I stepped out of the crowd and stood before Master Kinchi and Shinobi. "Slade, do you accept this mission?"

"Yes, Master Shinobi. I have a score to settle with the Fire Scath." I said.

"Slade, we, the council, have decided to offer you a choice. Once this mission is complete, we are offering you the choice to leave the Masked order or stay a Master forever." Master Shinobi said.

"What?" I asked.

"We know you have feeling for the girl, more than just teenage hormones. If you wish to leave the Masked and live with her, we will not stop you." Master Kinchi said. "You can make the decision once you return from your mission."

Thoughts revenged through my head as I started up the bike. As the garage door opened, Shaun and Arella walked into the bike room. "That is my bike, you know." Shaun called.

"I know." I said. "I'll give it back when I get back."

"Slade, be careful." Arella said.

"I will." I revved the engine and was about to ride out when Arella threw her arms around me.

"Come back, please." She said. A tear fell from her eye. "I love you."

I clicked off the front half of my mask and looked her in the eye. Instead of saying anything, I kissed her passionately. Then I clicked the mask back in place and rode out the door.

I had a hunch that if I went to the building I saw the flames fly off of last night I would find some evidence as to where the Scath went. I found the building, a large steel frame skyscraper with all the outside walls made of glass. I took the stairs up to the top since riding the elevator would seem conspicuous, and besides the stairs are good exercise.

At the top of the building I found a Mark of Scath burned into the top. The ash was still fresh. "Now I know where he was. I just have to figure out where he went."

As I said this, an enormous boom split the air and a cloud of black smoke and orange flames rose from a distant part of the city. As the smoke rose I recognized the place the explosion had come from, that looked like the building used as the Masked hideout! My heart stopped beating and my breathing shortened.

I ran back down the stairs, jumped on the bike and drove back as fast as the bike could take me! I had to be sure, had to know if it was the masked building that was on fire. I hoped I was wrong. But I wasn't wrong; the smoldering building was the Masked HQ. A part of a wall was still standing, but the rest was collapsed. I started digging through the rubble and found Master Shinobi, dead, under a large chunk of bricks. Master Kinchi and the rest of the Masked council were each burned so bad it was difficult to identify them. I found countless other Apprentice, Warrior, and Master buried in the derbies. But where were Shaun and Arella?

"Slade," a weak voice said. Hanging on the wall, his arms and legs pinned up by ninja throwing stars and a short sword stabbed in side, was Shaun.

"Shaun, I'm going to get you down." I said, and grabbed the hilt of the sword.

"Leave it. I'm done for." He said, blood dripping from his mouth. "It was him, Slade. The Fire Scath. He came and did this."

"How? How did he find this place? How could he take down so many Masked?"

"I don't know. It happened so fast. He took her! He took Arella!"

"What?" I yelled.

"I tried to stop him, I did all I could. But I was no match. Please, forgive me." His head fell limp and his final breath escaped his body.

I starred down at the ground. Anger, sadness, hatred, and dread all filled me at once. I slammed my fist into the wall and a small crater was formed in the bricks. "There is nothing to forgive, Shaun. I know I never said it, but you were my best friend. Your death shall be avenged. I'm sorry." I grabbed the hilt of the sword and yanked it from his body. He fell to the ground and I pulled the throwing stars from his arms and legs.

I slipped the stars into my belt and jumped back on the bike. I would find the Fire Scath and kill him. And I had a pretty good Idea of where to find him. I hit the throttle and drove off for the town library.

The library had been closed since the Water Dragon incident, and scheduled for demolition. But that wouldn't stop the Fire Scath. I worked my way down the different tunnels and corridors, taking the bike with me, until I came to the hallway to the main room. Looking in I saw the Fire Scath standing in the palm of the Trigon arm. Arella was tied to the pinky finger.

"What do you want with me?" Arella asked.

"You are the mother of the sixth Gem. Trigon has commanded it. Don't worry your pretty little head, your suffering is only temporary." The Scath said. He held up his first two fingers and they started glowing orange. He stabbed his fingers into the statue and tore hole of swirling orange and black light. A portal to Trigon's dimension.

"How about no suffering, why isn't that an option?" Arella asked.

"Can't be done. I must obey my lord and master. Too bad for you." He held out his hand and a bind of heat reached from his hand to wrap around Arella. The bind tore the ropes apart and wrapped tightly around her body.

I revved the bike and zoomed forward out of the tunnel , the bike jumped and flew through the air. I let go of the bike and pushed it so it would collide with the Scath. He shot a blast of fire from his hand and hit the bike in a fiery explosion. I pulled the five ninja stars from my belt and threw them each with quick succession. He shot down four of them but the fifth hit him across the face. He roared in pain and dropped Arella.

I landed on the palm of Trigon's hand. Arella threw her arms around me in embrace. I picked her up in my arms and leapt from Trigon's hand to the floor below and started running for the door. A blast of fire shot down in front of us creating a barrier of flames in our path.

The Fire Scath jumped from the statue to the ground behind us. "You're not getting away this time."

I set Arella down and turned to face the Scath. I drew the sword and pointed the blade at him. "Try and stop us."

"You're going to fight with the sword that is still stained with the blood of your fallen comrade? At least you'll present more of a challenge." His hands erupted in ablaze of flames and he charged. He shot three balls of fire at me, all of which I blocked with the sword.

He swung a flaming fist at my head; I dodged and swung the sword down on him. He summer-salted under the blade and pounded me in the chin with a flaming uppercut. As I staggered back he grabbed Arella by the wrist, jumped back into the palm of Trigon's arm statue and shoved her into the portal! The portal closed with Arella trapped on the other side. "It is done!" He laughed.

I leapt up onto the statue and pounded my fist into his face. He was thrown back and I pinned him up against one of Trigon's fingers, the blade pressed tightly against his neck.

"If you're going to kill me, at least see who I am." The Scath said. He pushed back the hood and the face was the face of a person I knew a long time ago.

"Marth?"


	28. Revealing the Scath

**Revealing the Scath**

"So, it was you? This whole time?"

"Of coarse," Marth answered. "I expected you to catch on sooner." He thrust his fist into the bottom of my breastbone. That part of your body is among the weakest points in your entire body with no layer of muscle to protect it. I buckled over in pain.

He slammed me under the chin with his knee and punched me in the face. I fell back and the sword fell from my hands. I jumped back to my feet. "How did you find the Masked hideout?"

"Remember the tracking device you used to help blow a hole in the ceiling of this library? I found it. It led me directly to your hide away. But I had to wait until you left. That's why I sent up the flame signal last night, I knew the Masked would send you out to find and destroy me. And once you left, I just had to go to that hide out and destroy it. If you had been there when I attacked I would've been out classed, out matched, and out numbered. But without you it was as easy as a little kid burning an ant hill with a magnifying glass." Marth explained.

"Even without me you were still out numbered 500 to one." I said.

"But all those so called 'Masters' were pathetic and weak. You are all that is left."

"Then I'll just kill you myself." I said.

"Even if you do, you won't stand a chance against the Gem. This new Gem will be the most powerful of all. Her dark psychic powers will be so great no one will be able to destroy her."

"How do you know it's a her?" I asked.

"Born under the sign of the Raven. She'll destroy you." He sneered.

"Haven't you noticed how many times the Masked has killed the Gem before they could become the portal? Even if I am the last, I'll still stop her."

"You don't know how close the Masked came to destruction because of the Fox Gem. They never talk about it because it was a horrible time in Masked history.

The Fox Gem was a boy named Kyuubi, Japanese for 'Nine-tailed fox'. His special gift from Trigon was that he had incredible speed, agility, and sharpness of mind. His great skills made him the perfect subject to be made a Masked apprentice.

He was taken as an apprentice and progressed almost as fast as you. The day he was promoted to Warrior, he revealed that he was the Fox Gem and attacked the Masked. They dispersed in an attempt to escape Kyuubi's wrath, but all in all the Masked were hunted down and killed until only two were left. Those two were Master Kamikage and Master Haku.

When Kyuubi found them, a fight ensued. Kamikage was the head leader of the Masked council, but Haku had just barely become a Master. As soon as the fight began, Haku was knocked unconscious and it was left to Kamikage to fight Kyuubi. As they fought they both did serious damage to the other, but Kyuubi was winning.

Just as Kyuubi was to deal the final blow, Haku woke up and killed Kyuubi with a single blow. It was too late for Master Kamikage, but Master Haku managed to restore the Masked order. But even Kyuubi was weak compared to this Raven." Marth grinned.

"Even so, you're still going to die!" I charged and pounded my fist into his face. As he recoiled, I slammed my other fist in his face. With a quick spin I struck him in the chest with my foot. Marth fell from the top of the Trigon statue and crashed in a cloud of dust on the ground below.

He walked slowly out of the dust cloud and looked back up. "I can tell the anger that drives you, you've lost everything you've ever cared about. Your family, your friends, teachers, your love, and even your son."

"My son?"

"As of last night Arella was pregnant with your child. Don't worry; Trigon won't affect this boy in the least. He'll simply impregnate Arella with another child. In a way, the Gem will have a twin. Arella won't raise this boy; some nice people in far away mountains will adopt him. He'll be mute and very talented with a guitar. Most impressive of all, this boy will have the ability to take over another persons body if only for a short time." Marth said.

My fists clenched and my teeth tightened. How could he? He was my best friend when we were kids and before I became a Masked. Why would he turn on me like that?

Anger boiled up inside me. Anger and hatred. I looked down at what was once and friend and now a mortal enemy and said, "Marth, I just want you to know that I have a horrible disgust for you. You will pay for what you did."


	29. Fight to the Death: Slade VS Marth

**Fight to the Death: Slade VS. Marth**

"You will pay for what you did." I said. I leapt from the statue's palm into the air. I pulled the metal staff from my belt and hurtled it like a spear for his face.

Marth did a double back flip away and the staff embedded itself into the stone floor. He landed squarely on his feet and a blast of fire shot from his hand toward me.

I spun in the air and the flames flew right past. I landed with a bang and cracks appeared in the floor beneath my feet. I one swift movement I pulled a two-sided blade from my belt and threw it in an arch. As it came close, Marth launched another ball of fire from his hand and the blade exploded in a cloud of smoke.

As the smoke clouded his eyes, I charged and pulled back a fist. I threw the fist at his head, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me forward, throwing me over his shoulder. He slammed me on the ground and more cracks grew in the floor. "I expected more from you, Slade. How disappointing." He sneered.

"Look closer." I said.

His eyebrow raised and he looked at the ground beneath him. A small attach bomb was stuck to the ground right beneath his feet, the red light in the middle blinking rapidly. I jumped up and out of the way just as it went off, the explosion shook the entire room. I had just barely escaped the worst of the blast.

I looked back just as the smoke was clearing and saw Marth, still sanding. His clothes had been scorched, and his body badly injured, but he still stood. "Very close, Slade. Very close. I was just barely able to absorb most of the explosion in time." He said.

A blast of fire shot from his hands, I held up my arms and blocked the oncoming flames. "That trick is getting old." I said.

"How about this?" He pulled back both arms and blasted an enormous stream of fire, in a shape that resembled the Water Dragon.

_Can't block that. _I thought. The sword lay on the ground to my right about thirty feet away. The second before this Fire Dragon would've hit me, I leapt in the direction of the sword. The flames flew past and I grabbed the sword by the hilt.

Marth laughed. "You know, your mother never committed suicide. I killed her."

"What?" I growled.

"After she learned that you were in the Masked, she came back here to us. She wanted out. We couldn't let her. She told us about you and about how you alone stood against her, but she didn't tell us where your hideout was. So we tied her up, threw her in a car, and drove the car over a cliff. Her suicide note was a fake.

This is the event that really helped me to become Trigon's massager. We never thought that you would become such a problem. Trigon sent me on the task to kill the True Master. He must've known you were there. He wanted me to find you.

Trigon must have known that you would lead me to his next bride and the Masked hideout. Speaking of Arella, she must be in excruciating pain right now." An evil grin crept across his mouth.

This was the moment I snapped. Something inside me was unleashed at that instant, a feeling of darkness. I glared at Marth, the sword held tight in my fist. "All your gloating and monologues are really pissing me off." I said, my voice somehow softer yet darker and more mysterious that before. "I'm here to kill you and you probably want to kill me. Well, here I am. If you want me, come and get me."

He nodded and charged. Flames erupted from his hands. He threw a powerful punch at me face, I took one step back and he fell right past me. "You'll have to do better then that." I said.

"You'll see." He jumped into the air, high above my head. "You cannot defeat pure evil."

"Actually, I'm not such a nice guy myself." I coiled my legs and jumped up after him. My foot plowed into his stomach, his eyes almost bulged out of his head. We crashed into one of the side statues. I grabbed him by the collar and threw him back to the ground. I jumped down after him with the sword. I thrust the sword downward, catching only the end of his robe. The sword was embedded into the floor through his robe.

With a swing of his flaming fist, Marth punched me in the face and I fell sprawled out a good ten feet away from him. "This fight is over, Slade. Trigon has won."

"On the contra, this is only the beginning." I glanced up to the statue along the wall. He looked too and saw a small red blinking light.

"That's another of your attach bombs, isn't it?" Marth said. "Why did you just give yourself away? I can dodge it."

"Are you so certain?" I asked.

He started to walk toward me, and then stopped short. He looked down and saw the sword embedded deep into the ground through his robe. "His eyes grew wide with fear and his mouth dropped open.

The bomb went off, creating a huge explosion that shook the room. A cloud of orange flames and black smoke rose in a mushroom shape away from the statue. The head of the statue fell off its shoulders and plummeted to the ground right for Marth. Marth's hands burst into flames and he held them in front of his face as if the block the falling ruble.

"Aaaaahhhhh!" Marth screamed in defiance. The statue's head crashed with a bone-crunching thud on the ground in the exact place that Marth was standing. I didn't flinch when the impact came. Marth's arm still hung out from under the ruble, his hand clenched in a flaming fist. Then the flames went out and his hand fell limp.

Marth was dead; I had won.


	30. Last of the Masked

**Last of the Masked**

For this last chapter, all I will tell you is an overview, the basic events. With Marth's death, my life fell apart. Lost and alone among a world that had no recollection of my existence. The moment I became a Masked, all record of me was erased, so I didn't really exist.

Dread filled my heart. I was the only Masked left alive and I knew the Gem was coming. But I knew I would never bring myself to kill her, she was the daughter of Arella. It was that very fact that gave me hope. Arella was the most kind-hearted person I know, her name means "Massager angle." With her as the mother, this Gem might not become evil and heartless like all the others. Which meant there was still a chance to stop Trigon and not kill the Gem. That was my only hope.

When I finally got back to the place where the old Masked headquarters used to stand, I found that most of the ruble had already been removed and all the bodies taken to the morgue. But since no one in the Masked had any real record of existence in any database, they would all be labeled John Doe.

While digging through the ruins I found few artifacts. One was the Third Ring of Azar; the other two had been destroyed. But I did find a door that took me to an underground room that linked to all the sewers in the city. Down there, I found huge cogs and gears working around the clock. The entire room was one big generator. The only apprentice outfit I found was my old one, the on with the metal "S" sewn into the upper left corner. This "S" would become my symbol, everyone who saw it would know exactly who it came from. I also found the blue prints for several types of machines including: the Masked robots, and these giant underground tunneling worms. All machines that Masked had designed, but never completed.

For the next 16 years I would devote my life to fulfilling what the rest of them couldn't. I would build all these mighty machines and restore the Masked order. I knew it could be done; Master Haku restored the Masked 1,200 years ago after he and Master Kamikage defeated Kyuubi. First I would need money and supplies. With no record, I could get no job, the only chose I had was to steal everything I needed. It started with petty thievery, just enough to live off of. But a rush came with each successful crime, a thrill. Losing everyone I cared for really started to turn me into the heartless monster everyone knows, but the thrill was the event that completed the transformation.

The trill I got from the crimes I committed drove me to steal again, to raise the stakes. Petty thievery wasn't enough; I needed the more advanced equipment to build. I started robbing computer labs and factories. Once while trying to steal metallic chromium I ran into other, even more notorious, villains, the Brotherhood of Evil.

Fighting the Brotherhood wasn't easy, although some fell like flies. General Immortus was defeated quickly, Madame Rouge was more difficult yet after a while she met her downfall, Monsieur Mallah was tricky but I had grown strong enough to beat down most types of large powerful animals and a gorilla was no different. After their defeat I confronted the Brain. He made me the offer to join the Brotherhood, I agreed on the condition that they help me to find an apprentice.

As member, I became the third best, better that Rouge of Immortus. While with the Brotherhood, I learned how to make the Chronoton Detonator, which could stop time permanently, and the Quantum Generator, which could tare a hole in space-time and create a black hole. With their help I made Nanoscopic probes that could invade a persons body and destroy them from the inside out, and the nural remotes that could allow me to control a persons every move. On my own I used my knowledge of bending time and stopping time to make a machine that would allow me to travel through time, the only problem was it took so much power to make even a short jump through time I could never use it.

The event that led me to leave the Brotherhood of Evil was when they were trying to perfect the Quantum Generator and the Doom Patrol crashed to party; Mento, Elasti-Girl, Negative Man, Robot Man, and Beast Boy. I tried to warn the Brain that the minute Beast Boy learned how to master his larger animal morphs, he wouldn't be just some pawn to be taken out. My prediction came true when Beast Boy first morphed one of the few animals I had no chance of defeating, a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

After this event I left the Brotherhood of Evil to find an apprentice on my own. Several promising subjects included: Bushido, Terra, and Jericho. Bushido was already a proud ninja possessing many of the qualities needed to become a Masked apprentice. Terra had incredible earth moving powers, but the fact that she couldn't completely control them made her lest likely to become my apprentice. I had my eye on Jericho simply because of the fact that he was my son. Adopted by peaceful people in the far away mountains, I managed to collect a single hair strand and that proved that he, in fact was Arella's son and mine.

It then happened that the Gordanians came to my city, looking for an escaped Tamaranian princess/slave, Starfire. This princess was found by Batman's old sidekick, Robin, former Doom Patrol member, Beast Boy, half-human half-machine, Cyborg, and the Raven Gem, Raven. I instantly recognized Raven as the Gem; I saw Arella's face in her. But I couldn't bring myself to attack and kill her; I still cared too much for Arella.

It was Robin I took the most interest in. Well trained in kung fu, uses weapons with exceptional skill, and a good leader. He truly was the perfect apprentice. After they defeated the Gordanians, they banded together and set up a base on the island in the bay (the same island Jericho was conceived on) and called themselves the Teen Titans.

I knew I could not simply approach Robin; I would have to get his attention. So, I enlisted the help of two local criminals: Cinderblock and Plasmus. I used them in a simple three-phase plan. First, use Cinderblock to break Plasmus out of jail; second, use Plasmus to distract the Titans; and third, have Cinderblock attack Titans Tower with the laser weapon I gave him. The plan was never meant to succeed, it was only supposed to get the Titans attention, let them know that a new bad guy was here.

The next part of my plan required some slightly smarter minions, I needed the Hive. The top graduates of the Hive academy this year were Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth. I told them that if they wanted to serve me they needed to destroy the Teen Titans, of coarse they failed. Their real purpose was to let the Titans know my name and that I was no easy match. I was a little surprised that it took so long for the Titans to defeat the Hive, but that was probably because Robin wasn't there all the time.

Next I actually needed to confront Robin personally. My perfect chance came when the Forces of Nature: Thunder and Lightning, appeared in the city. I disguised myself as the Old One to gain their trust and used my last Flame Spell to bring to life the Flame Monster one last time.

After that particular event, I went underground for a while. After a little break, I sent some of my newly built Masked robots to steal state-of-the-art computer chips. I only did this to keep Robin interested, the chips were worthless to me. What surprised me most was that Robin was so desperate to capture me he was willing to become a super thief named Red X and steal those chips to get to me. At first I was almost willing to drop my quest for robin and make Red X my apprentice, but it was Robin's impatience that gave him away. In the end, I saved Robin's life and I didn't get the chips. He might've learned a thing or two from that fight; he might've learned that we are similar.

It came time for me to take Robin as my apprentice, but he would not go willingly. I needed to trick him. I used my knowledge of Chronoton Detonator's to build a fake yet convincing one. I never told the Titans that a Chronoton Detonator was my major plan I let them put the pieces together. If you've noticed, I've never lied to the Titans. I've miss led and deceived, but not once have I ever lied.

I made sure that the reflection of "Pier 41" was on the Detonator so that they would know were to go and I was counting on the fact that most Tamaranians have allergies to metallic chromium so that they could track it. Starfire's allergies led the Titans to the sewers and Robin to me. He found that the Chronoton Detonator was a fake and that my real plan was to make him into my apprentice, to force him to do this I placed billions of the nanoscopic probes into the bodies of the other Titans and threatened that if Robin didn't serve me, I would destroy his friends.

Using this against him, Robin became my apprentice. But I underestimated the determination of his friends, especially Starfire. In fact I once had to force Robin to use deadly force by activating the probes. This helped him advance faster, but it also prompted him to fight back. In the end, the Titans showed up to free Robin, even though they knew the probes were inside them. Robin used the probes against me by infecting himself with even more that the other Titans had inside them. I had no choice but to de-active the probes. Without that leverage, the Titans didn't have to hold back, they attacked me with everything they had. Forcing me to activate the self-destruct of my base. Of coarse this was not the last time the Titans would see me.

My next plan came when the girl, Terra, happened to came to Jump City. When she showed up the Titans instantly took an interest in her, most noticeable was Beast Boy. My new plan was not to keep Raven from death anymore, but to eliminate the Teen Titans all together. I sent more of my Masked robots to attack a diamond mine, and the Titans came just as I knew they would. I confronted Terra away from the other Titans and used her insecurities against her, saying that the Titans would reject her once they found out about her uncontrollable powers. This plan worked.

After Terra left the Titans, I found her in a cave sobbing and offered her the chance to become my apprentice and control her powers. In return, she would only need to destroy the Teen Titans. After a moment of hesitation, she accepted my offer. I used my water controlling skills (even though I no longer had that power) to teach Terra how to control earth, and in the end her powers became second nature to her. Once her training was complete I sent her to infiltrate the Teen Titans inner circle.

To make the Titans trust her, I used the three giant worms to attack the city and later titans Tower. It took all of Terra's strength plus help from Raven, but she became one of the Titans.

My next orders were to strike and take out the Titans. However, she had grown to like them. Particularly Beast Boy. Instead of attacking directly, she sent me the information for deactivating the security system of Titans Tower. I sent 200, armed, Masked robots to invade the Tower and attack the Titans. With two less team members, the Titans were at a huge disadvantage. I dealt with Beast Boy myself. I found Terra and Beast Boy at the old abandon amusement park on the Farris wheel. As I fought Beast Boy he switched from animal to animal but most of his morphs I was able to defeat. With Terra's help they escaped into the House of Mirrors where Beast Boy learned the truth about Terra. Disgusted by her, Beast Boy told her, "You don't have any friends."

Terra made history as the first female Masked ever. She had one final mission to complete before she would be advanced to the level of Warrior. He last mission was to destroy the Teen Titans. Dawning a new battle suit encrypted with the neural interface, she went into battle and proved to be formidable to the Titans, even when 5-on-1. But still not enough. I sent her to the prison and had her break out Cinderblock, Plasmus, and Overload. She equipped each of them with a neural remote and they were each sent to attack three separate targets across the city. For the Titans to defeat them, they would have to split up. Once they were split up, I sent Terra to attack each of them one at a time until all the Titans were defeated.

Or so I thought.

The Teen Titans returned in full force, no longer holding back, to take Terra out. Relentless, the Titans almost destroyed Terra by the time she returned to the underground base. They were preoccupied with fighting a Cinderblock, Plasmus, Overload hybrid and an army of Masked robots. Terra returned to me in failure. I punished her for her weakness and she claimed that I had no right to. But I pointed out that she had nowhere else to go to. I used the neural interface in her suit to control her. Beast Boy found his way into the base and fought against Terra. But Terra broke free from my control, caused a volcanic eruption, and threw me into the lava. She was the one who killed me, but she killed herself when she stopped the eruption. Her body was turned into a statue.

I don't know much about the time I was dead, except that the fail-safe device in one of my masks was activated. The mask was coated with a layer of a chemical agent that is absorbed by the dust that falls on it, when the dust is disturbed and kicked up into the air it is inhaled into the body and absorbed into the blood stream. Once it makes its way to the brain, it causes extremely realistic hallucinations that the person can see, hear, and feel to the point that they believe it is real even if no one else can see it. The only problem with this technology is that the hallucinations only work in the dark, if a bright light is turned on the hologram will disappear. The other problem is that the program to begin the hallucinations can't trigger itself; a signal has to be sent. I don't know who sent the signal to activate my mask.

Not long after I died I found myself as little more than a skeleton in the presence of the very demon I've been trying to stop, Trigon. He summoned me from the dead to be his new massager, and as payment he promised to give me back my real flesh and blood. I had apparently shown that I could be a more powerful servant that Marth, plus I was the only of the Scath or Masked alive at the same time as the Gem. I was given a temporary body to fight with which could always re-heal, the power to control fire just like Marth, and a list of things to do and times to do them. I knew that Trigon would more that likely not uphold his promise so before I was sent to deliver my first massage to Raven; I went to where I had hid the third Ring of Azar.

My first mission was to place the inscriptions all over Raven's body. When I first started the mission I heard the Titans walk in and Cyborg ask which of these pathetic bad guys (Gizmo, Mad Mod, or Killer Moth) it could be. Then they saw me and were frozen in their tracks; after all I was supposed to be dead. I used my new powers and realized why Marth loved them so much. After a fight that showed the Titans how out matched they were, Raven somehow used her powers to stop time all together. But because of Trigon, she couldn't stop me. I showed her a vision of the future she was destined to create, and the markings were placed across her body.

Even though I was serving Trigon, I was still trying to stop him as best I could. When my mission came to reveal the prophecy, I deliberately made the Titans go to the old library so they could find everything about Trigon and the Scath. All the ghosts that attacked them happened to be the spirits of all the Scath I killed that day along time ago. They did find out that the Gem was Trigon's ticket to Earth, however if they had linked the Gem to a person and not to a rock they might've done better. They did find similarities between Raven and the Scath. My hopes were cut short when Trigon ordered me to destroy the Titans and get them out of his way. I was lucky, Raven showed up before I could destroy them. I escaped, but I had to leave Raven to explain the situation to the other Titans.

The day of the End of the World came all to soon. Raven hoped to give her friends the perfect last day, but the moment the sun was eclipsed they saw the truth. As Trigon's massager I had to go and get Raven to make her perform her destiny. The Titans had put up quite a fight to protect their friend; Starfire used her powers to the limit, Robin broke out some of his new weapons, Beast Boy managed to morph one of his most powerful creatures the Were-Beast, and Cyborg used his most powerful cannon weapons possible while draining the Tower of most of its power. Still, they couldn't kill me, I was already dead. Despite their best efforts Raven willingly came with me to the old library, but now I was expendable. With my only real purpose as Trigon's massager complete, he didn't need me anymore. When I went to get my reward, true to nature he didn't give them up. Quietly I slipped on the Ring of Azar before lashing out at the demon. He easily took back all the power he had given me and almost destroyed me; I was barely able to hold on to any form with the Ring of Azar. I escaped and found the Titans in the main meeting room at the bottom of the library. Raven had sealed the other away behind a barrier while she preformed the prophecy and became the portal for Trigon to come through.

Trigon emerged from the portal and used his power to destroy the world. The Ring of Azar protected me from his evil, but the Titans were saved by Raven's power. When they awoke in this new scorched world, they found that they had some of Raven's power. They attacked Trigon but even with Raven's power at their command, they could not destroy him. And they had no means of defense against him. As they were about to give up, I emerged to offer them a chance at saving Raven and defeating Trigon. If Raven was really the daughter of Arella and really as good as I hoped, then we might have a chance. I could take one of the Titans with me into Trigon's world while the others kept Trigon occupied. Robin volunteered to go with me and, as a sign of good hope; I gave Starfire the Ring of Azar. I took Robin down with me to the world's abyss, but it seemed Trigon was waiting for us; he sent his fire soldiers to attack us. Robin and I worked with perfect teamwork to defeat these monsters, only confirming my first impression that Robin would make an excellent apprentice, but in the fight my mask came off and Robin saw the truth. I was long since dead. I told him how this came to pass and he knew he was here to save me as much as to save Raven. We came to a fork in the road and I sent Robin off to save his friend while I went to retrieve what was rightfully mine.

I trekked for hours down the path, finally coming to the Door of Lost Souls. If I could open the door it would grant me one wish. The door was guarded by one of Trigon's minions welding a large fire axe. In my current condition I wasn't fit to defeat a monster this powerful, but I managed to open the door and my wish for life was granted, I got my flesh and blood back. The guard was killed by the opening of the door. I took his fire axe and journeyed back up the path. Once I got back to the upper world I found Robin had made it back and the Titans were engaging Trigon, but now that the Ring of Azar was pushed beyond its limits, the ring was broken. The Titans were grasped in Trigon's fist about to be destroyed when I used the fire axe to slash off one of Trigon's horns. With my life returned to me I could easily fight without the threat off Trigon crushing me. Young Raven saw that Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and I were actually hurting Trigon. But we still weren't enough to defeat him. Until Raven finally realized that she had the power to destroy the demon. Taking back the power she gave to the Titans, she returned to her normal age and with one final spell destroyed Trigon for good and purified the Earth.

With the Earth purified and Trigon gone for good, I escaped into the heart of the city. The Titans would obviously keep looking for me, but they would never find me. I had fulfilled the purpose I had set out to do, just like Raven, and now I had my whole newly returned life ahead of me. The only problem was I didn't know what to do with it. I had been fighting Trigon for so long that once he was gone I had no path left to follow. I still hope to find a way to go, but now it is the Teen Titan's story. I would like to tell you that this is the end of my journey, but I still have more to do. This is the end of this book, but my connection with the Titans is far from over.

**The End**


	31. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

First, I'd like to give the disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or Slade. If I did, the show wouldn't have ended at season five and this story would be an actual book or show in its own right and not just a fanfic.

This story was my first fanfic and by far one of my most successful. In starting this story I was asking myself several key Slade questions. Why does he want an apprentice? How did he get the Ring of Azar? How did he get so skilled at what he does? And what is with that mask? The Ring of Azar question was what really gave me the idea to write this. Slade said that the ring was "Forged by the same order that imprisoned Trigon." It only made sense that he should be part of that order.

The Scath came from the episode, "The Prophecy" when Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg were walking through the caverns beneath the library. In the show "Scath" was another name for Trigon.

There are several references to Naruto in this story. The name Shinobi is another name for ninja, Kyuubi is the name of the nine-tailed fox demon, Haku is the name of the tracker ninja from the Hidden Mist village, and the Water Dragon is a technique that Kakashi used once.

I put the three chapters about the Old One after I saw the episode "Forces of Nature" and I thought I needed some way to explain how Slade learned to create that monster. It also gave me a way to finish the story. The water controlling ability is a slight reference to Avatar: the Last Airbender. These powers were given to Slade because he never does anything without having a back up plan, and you don't create a giant invincible monster without having a way to destroy it first incase it gets out of control.

The part about Slade going to train with the True Master was really just to burn time. I didn't want to go strait from the Old One to Arella so I slipped in this little bit about the True Master. Plus I talked about the Masked council back in chapter three but I didn't show them until chapter 10. Originally, the five chapters with the True Master were supposed to be an exact redoing of "The Quest" but some reviews asked me to make the story more original so I brought in the Fire Scath early. See, your reviews are important. The Fire Scath has the same power that Slade had in season 4, that's not a coincidence.

Some of you noticed that chapter 16, when the Fire Scath offered Slade to join his, was from Spider-Man. But it fit real well with the story I couldn't replace it.

"The Prophecy" also inspired the Cycle of the Gem when Beast Boy was choosing a door to go through and he said, "Ennie, Mennie, Minnie, Moe." The 4 symbols shown above each door became the Cycle of the Gem. I had to stop, rewind, and play, pause, and rewind again over and over to get it right. Making Malchior a Gem was simply a spur of the moment thing. I just thought "hey wouldn't it be cool if Malchior was a Gem too?"

Putting Arella into the story was something I had planned on since day one as a way to close the story out. But making her be Jericho's mother wasn't. I had that added because everyone knows that Slade is Jericho's father and I needed to explain it somehow.

Some of you thought that Shaun was going to be the Fire Scath. A good guess, but not quite. Marth was always going to be the Fire Scath. But since he wasn't in the story much as Marth, I slipped him in, in Chapter 21.

All and all, this is one of my best stories. But it's not over yet. This one is, but Slade still has more to say, there will be a sequel. "Slade: Revenge of the Scath." I know it sounds a lot like Star Wars. The first chapter will come sometime around late august or early September, and will begin during "Things Change" when Terra returns and will continue on from there. I can't tell you more than that without spoiling the story.

Look forward to it. Until then, I am Master of the Red Eyes Black Dragon.


End file.
